MussouRI BOTANICAL GARDEN JBULLETIN VOLUME XLVII 1959 ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI PUBLISHED FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, JUNE, SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $2.50 A YEAR 14-4 Orchid Culture Odontoglossum MissourRI BOTANICAL GARDEN Cover: Orchid drawings by Kenneth Peck. Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis 10, Missouri. Published February, March, April, June, September, and November by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $2.50 a year. Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Galesburg, Illinois, under Act of March 3, 1879. ORCHID CULTURE ROBERT J. GILLESPIE INTRODUCTION HE Orchid family is the largest family of flowering plants. It has been estimated that of the world’s flowering plants adapted to culture, in terms of total numbers, one in seven is an orchid. The orchid family (the Orchidaceae, Orchid-ay'-see-e), con- sisting of 15,000 to 20,000 species, is an extremely successful and prom- inent plant group found in every climate and type of habitat except the very driest deserts and the polar regions. Orchids are particularly abundant in the tropics, with two main geographical centers of distribu- tion in Central and South America and in Southeast Asia. Perhaps the most fascinating feature of the Orchid family is the tremendous variation which its members display in both their vegetative and floral struc- tures. Even with such extreme vari- ations, botanists recognize the orchid family as an excellent “natural” plant group. All of these plants have in common certain basic characteristics which indicate that they are orchids. These characteristics can be sum- marized briefly as follows: Perennial herbs with tuberous or fibrous roots; stems without annual rings; minute embryo with one coty- ledon; leaves with parallel veination; flowers with three sepals and three alternating petals one of which is modified into a lip; floral sexual organs united into a single structure called a column; pollen often united into waxy spherical masses called pollinia; ovary one-chambered with 3 carpels, in- ferior, with abundant minute ovules. While orchids have been cultivated in the Orient for centuries, it was not until 1731 that Europe’s first tropical orchid, Bletia purpurea, arrived in England from the Caribbean region. The first Asian orchids came to Eng- land from China in 1778. They were Phains Tankervillii and Cymbidium ensifolium. By 1800, Kew Gardens had the largest collection of epiphytic orchids in Europe consisting of about 20 species, with Oncidium, Epiden- drum and Lycaste well represented genera. Early attempts to cultivate epi- phytic orchids in Europe were ex- tremely primitive and most plants were able to survive for only a limited time. Horticulturists lacked even the basic concepts of Orchid culture and they attempted to grow these supposed “tropical parasites’ in an environment which corresponded to their ideas of a tropical habitat. First of all, orchids were always kept in very hot green- (1) houses into which little or no fresh air was ever admitted. The atmosphere was constantly saturated and_ the plants were usually kept extremely wet. Because orchids were considered parasitic, they were potted in a variety of media such as decaying and moldy wood, rotting vegetation or just plain garden soil. Despite the brutal treat- ment received, some plants were able to survive for rather lengthy periods of time. The 19th century saw a veritable “Orchid Craze’? overrun England, much as the “Tulip Mania” had swept Holland in the 17th Century. Every large estate had its orchid collection and English aristocrats sought, and paid tremendous prices for, rare or un- usual orchids. Collectors representing both private and commercial establish- ments invaded the tropics to collect and export millions of orchids, most of which succumbed after a few years, to be replaced by vigorous, freshly- imported stock. In 1835, a significant year in the history of orchid culture, Joseph Pax- ton, gardener for the Duke of Devon- shire, stated his directions for growing orchids, thus laying the foundations for modern orchid culture. Paxton actually investigated and_ recorded facts about the climates where various commonly-cultivated orchids were collected. He then attempted to du- plicate these conditions in his green- houses. His success was instantaneous and his plants flourished to the degree that most English orchid growers very quickly adopted his methods. The cultural recommendations of Joseph Paxton can be summarized as follows: 1. Orchids from different altitudes should be grown at different temperatures. 2. Fresh air should be admitted into the greenhouses and the atmos- phere should be kept only mod- erately moist. 3. A well-aérated potting medium as well as a well-drained con- tainer should be used. Gradually through the years, Pax- ton’s cultural principles have grown until now, horticulturists know most of the basic cultural requirements for all of the major cultivated orchid groups. The orchid grower today has over a century of knowledge and hard- earned experience to draw upon. THE MAJOR CULTIVATED ORCHID GROUPS The cultivated orchids encompass such a tremendous number of species indigenous to a variety of habitats that to discuss them all here would obviously be impracticable. There- fore, this treatise will include only the six major cultivated groups: The Cattleya group, the Cypripedium group, the Cymbidium group, the Odontoglossum group, the Dendro- bium group and the Vanda group. The reader should bear in mind that while discussing the details of culture of these groups, it is not possible to set forth precise formulae which, if ad- hered to faithfully, will insure success. The maintenance from day to day of optimum conditions around any orchid is to a large degree a problem which must be worked out by each individual grower in his own growing area. The broad general cultural details can be presented, but each grower, to have a well-grown collection, must find the proper combination of the many mi- nute environmental factors. Also, it must be realized that it is impossible for man to duplicate precisely the na- tive environment of any orchid plant. For example, we cannot hope to give an orchid the same day-length pattern which exists in the tropics. Our tem- peratures may be too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Because the plant is growing in a pot, the watering schedule must be differ- ent from nature’s watering pattern. Thus it becomes necessary for man to work out a set of environmental con- ditions which, though different from those of the plant’s natural habitat, will, never-the-less, provide the re- quirements for best growth and devel- opment. Man can frequently control the environment of a plant to a degree that permits near-maximum growth under more ideal conditions than in nature where the plant is subjected to rapid and whimsical environmental changes. Consequently, many orchid growers have found, much to their surprise, that some orchid plants grow and flower more luxuriantly under cultivation than they do in their native habitats. THE CATTLEYAS AND THEIR ALLIES Cattleyas are the most popular of all the orchids and they are the principal flowers of the orchid cut-flower indus- try. Over 60 per cent of the orchid plants in cultivation are Cattleya species or hybrids. The genus is native to Central and South America where populations are found growing at alti- tudes of 3000 to 6000 feet. Here the temperatures range from 60° F. at night to about 75° during the day. The relative humidity varies from 50 per cent to the saturation point. Pre- cipitation occurs almost daily, tem- porarily drenching the plants; but the water drains off quickly leaving the plants’ root systems relatively dry. The light is usually rather intense and the plants are shaded by only a few leaves and branches. The cultivation of Cattleyas requires slight modifica- tions of this natural environment. TEMPERATURE Orchids are classified into three groups according to their temperature requirements: 1. The warm orchids, such as the genus Phalaenopsis, which are found in low, hot, regions of the tropics and which require day temperatures of 75° and above, and night temperatures ranging from 65° to 70°. 2. The intermediate orchids, to which the Cattleyas belong, which grow best at day tempera- tures of 70° and above, and night temperatures of 60° to 65°. 3. The cool orchids—plants, such as the Odontoglossums, that are native to the high mountain areas where cool days and chilly which prefer nights are the rule day temperatures from 60° to 70° and night temperatures of 45° to 50°. Plants from the first two groups are best subjects for home culture and for growing in areas where the summer temperatures are extremely hot. Cooling techniques: In the green- house, Cattleyas are usually grown at temperatures of about 60° at night and from 70° to 85° during the day. In the summer these temperatures cannot, of course, be maintained, es- pecially in the greenhouse where dur- ing the day the temperature may soar to 100° or over. During such hot spells, periodic dampening down of walks and the gravel beds or benches between the pots, as well as lightly spraying the plants themselves will help to mini- mize the harmful effects of high tem- peratures. Such recent innovations as evaporative coolers and fog-mist de- vices help tremendously in keeping down summer temperatures in the greenhouse. They can frequently keep a greenhouse 15 to 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. Importance of Lower Night Tem- peratures: While day temperatures can vary considerably with little harm- ful effect, the maintenance of opti- mum night temperatures is extremely important. This is true, not only for Cattleyas, but also for most cultivated orchids. For example, some orchids will grow well and initiate flower buds at a night temperature of 55°. These same plants will grow poorly and will not initiate flowers if kept at 60° at night. Preventing Sudden Temperature Changes: It is not only important to maintain the proper day and night temperature in the home or green- house; but it is also important to avoid rapid temperature fluctuations. On a cold winter morning, for example, the sun can suddenly raise the temperature in a greenhouse from the cool night temperature to a warm day tempera- ture in a few minutes. The smaller the greenhouse, the more quickly it is heated by the sun, for its glass surface area is very large in relation to its vol- ume. Rapid temperature rises around an orchid plant mean that the plant’s leaves become warm and_physiolog- ically active while the root system, in its solid rooting medium, is still very cold and consequently physiologically dormant. The active leaves are de- manding large quantities of water and nutrients which the root system can- Under these conditions, photosynthesis, transpira- not possibly supply. tion and other vital plant processes are severely restricted, as a result develop- ing flower buds and new growths can be damaged. Rapid rises in tempera- ture on sunny days can be avoided by gradually opening ventilators early in the morning, thus permitting the greenhouse to warm up slowly. Water- ing the plants with warm water will help to raise the root temperature. LIGHT How much light intensity does a mature Cattleya require? That, un- fortunately, is a relative question. A mature Cattleya in good condition and free of disease should grow well if it receives about 3000 foot-candles (F.C.) of light. Some growers prefer to use up to 5000 F.C.; however, a Cattleya must be in very good condi- tion to withstand such high intensities since leaf burning or the bleaching of chloroplasts can easily occur. It is doubtful, therefore, if any real benefits can be derived from extremely high light intensities. The best criterion for judging opti- mum light intensities for a plant is the condition of the plant itself. A Cat- tleya with lush dark green leaves and soft succulent growths is not receiving enough light. Extreme yellowing and bleaching or burning of the leaves in- A well- grown plant receiving optimum light dicates too intense light. should have leaves with a slightly yel- low cast and a hard leathery texture. A heavy concentration of red or purple pigments (anthocyanin) in the pseudo- bulbs or leaves, as well as slight antho- cyanin speckling on the flower sheaths of some Cattleyas indicates good light conditions. Controlling Light: Greenhouses re- quire some form of shading from March through October with the heaviest protection needed during July and August when 30 per cent of out- door light intensity is admitted. Clear glass is preferable from November White shading compound, sprayed or painted on the through February. glass, is a very satisfactory form of shading although some orchid growers prefer lath shades or plastic shading cloth. HUMIDITY Water in the gaseous state, is an im- portant factor in any orchid’s environ- ment. Most orchids prefer a relative humidity between 50 and 80 per cent of saturation. An extremely humid atmosphere that is not moving is particularly undesirable. It is impor- tant for every orchid grower to re- member that relative humidity usually varies inversely with the temperature. This means that on an average summer day in the Midwest, the morning tem- perature may be 70° and the relative humidity can be 100 per cent or at the saturation point. By early in the afternoon the temperature may be 90° but the relative humidity may have fallen to 40 per cent of saturation. As the temperature falls in the evening the relative humidity once again in- creases. Therefore, on sunny days it is usually necessary to increase the hu- midity in the greenhouse by dampening down floors and benches and lightly spraying the plants. This should be done before noon so as to prevent excessive plant transpiration which would occur if the humidity were drastically decreased, and also to allow the greenhouse to dry before evening thus preventing excessive condensation. Artificial heat in a greenhouse has a drying effect and the orchid grower must always be on guard against an arid atmosphere during the heating season. WATERING How wet is wet and how dry is dry? This is the question which continu- ally haunts the novice orchid grower. Unfortunately, there is no unit of measure like the degree or the foot candle which can be used as a pre- No set rule on watering frequency can be cise indicator in watering. given. However, as a general rule of thumb, a Cattleya should be ‘“‘pot- watered” when the medium in which it is growing is approaching the state of being completely dry. The plant should never become completely dry; on the other hand, it should not be watered if the root system is fairly moist. When “‘pot-watering,” the pot- ting medium should be thoroughly saturated; but the excess water should drain away quickly. Watering twice a week would be about average for most mature Cattleyas under normal greenhouse conditions. During the warm summer period, more frequent pot-waterings are required, while dur- ing the dull winter months a more re- stricted schedule should be followed. Extremely cold water should not be used and water containing high amounts of salts or which is exces- sively alkaline or acid should be avoided. Above all, it is important to remember that in nature the Cattleya is watered by a system which alter- nately soaks and dries the plant. VENTILATION Outside air is essential for all green plants, since it supplies them with much-needed carbon dioxide. Also, a constantly moving, light buoyant at- mosphere keeps orchids vigorous and healthy. Damp stagnant greenhouse conditions encourage molds and _ bac- terial and insect diseases. Orchid pots should be staged on open decking or on wire screening so as to allow air movement below and around the pots. Many growers are now using green- house fans which are kept running day and night, constantly moving the air throughout the greenhouse and thus preventing a musty atmosphere. Evaporative coolers are excellent aération devices during the summer months for they not only lower green- house temperatures but they also move large quantities of fresh air through the greenhouse without creating drafts. Greenhouse ventilators should be opened whenever possible. This may mean only “cracking” the vents for an hour on a cold, dull winter day or it may mean leaving them open for rather long periods of time during the warm summer months. Drafts should be avoided at all times and ventilators should always be opened away from This is particularly important during the the direction of the wind. winter months. POTTING Successful orchid growers constant- ly analyze their growing procedures in order to find weak links where opti- mum conditions are not being main- tained. Potting practices are fre- quently the weakest link in the orchid grower’s chain. In only a few minutes an improper job of potting can undo months, even years of good culture. It is imperative, therefore, that every grower understand exactly how and when orchids should be repotted. Un- fortunately, potting is as much an art as it is a science and while the tech- nique can be studied through the lit- erature and in illustrations, it still cannot be mastered without actual practice. If possible, every novice orchid grower should receive at least one potting lesson from an experienced potter. He would benefit more from such a lesson than he could from studying numerous articles or illustra- tions. WHEN TO Pot Regardless of the size of growth or of the flowering pattern exhibited by any plant, the best time to repot a Cattleya is just at the time when its new vegetative growths are sending out a flush of roots. The new growth on one particular plant may be only an inch or two long when it “roots out,” another plant may be in full flower and initiating roots at the same time. Potting almost always injures the ex- isting root system of a plant. If the plant is not at a point in its growth cycle where it can quickly replace its lost roots with new vigorous ones, severe dessication and even death can result. If a plant is passed by and not repotted at the proper time, it is usu- ally best to refrain from potting until the plant develops another growth and sends forth new roots. A Cattleya is in need of repotting when its new growths are extending beyond the pot or when the potting medium has broken down to the point where opti- mum growth is no longer possible. On the average, a Cattleya will need repotting once every 18 months to two years. How to Pot Potting procedures can be divided into three broad categories: a. prep- aration of potting materials, b. potting technique, and c. post-potting care. Preparation of Potting Materials: Two basic types of potting media are now available to the orchid grower. Each of these materials is quite satis- factory; in most cases both produce about equal results. Osmunda fiber (the roots of the Osmunda fern, Os- munda regalis) has been in use for over 50 years. It contains all of the nutrients needed by epiphytic orchids; but it is expensive to buy and difficult to work with, requiring considerable practice for mastery of its use. Fir bark has been in general use for about five years and has almost completely replaced Osmunda fiber as a potting medium for epiphytic orchids. It is the bark from any of several species of western conifers, principally Abies While fir bark is nutritionally quite poor, it 1s, concolor, the White Fir. never-the-less, easy to use, relatively inexpensive, and seems to stimulate root development in some orchid species. The following discussion of potting will be based on the use of fir bark. Those who are interested in using Os- munda fiber for potting will find in the appendix a list of references, some of which have well-written sections on its use. For potting Cattleyas, the following materials are required: Pots, pieces of broken pot (crock), fir bark, scissors, pruning shears, key-hole saw, wire stakes, string and celluloid orchid labels. Fir bark should always be potted moist. Extremely dry bark loses its hygroscopic water and resists moisten- ing so that a plant potted in dry bark can become dessicated even though it E. L. EVINGER E. L. EVINGER An orchid grower’s potting bench with fir A hybrid Cattleya plant in need of repot- bark and other potting materials. ting. Note new roots. FE. L. EVINGER E. Le. EVINGER Cattleya plant removed from pot showing Root ball being divided with key-hole saw the root system in fir bark. after rhizome was cut with pruning shears. E. L. EVINGER Newly separated division being potted in fir bark. Note that plant is being held with the youngest part in the center of the pot. is watered properly. Freshly potted fir bark can be easily washed out of pots and it is necessary to use a water breaker or bubbler on the hose or watering pot to break the force of the water. It is important to use only the screened coarse grade of fir bark for potting mature Cattleyas. Finer par- ticles tend to pack and drain poorly, thus preventing good root develop- ment. Nutrients can be added to fir bark at the time of potting. If one stand- ard 3-in. flower pot full of each of the following nutrients—super-phosphate, bone meal, hoof and horn meal, and a 10-10-10 water soluble chemical fer- tilizer—is mixed into a standard 3-cu. ft. bag of fir bark, it will supply the plants being potted in the material with enough food for a year and no supplemental feedings will be required. E. L. EVINGER On the left the newly potted division and on the right the remainder of the plant which was returned relatively undisturbed to the pot. Pots to be used should be clean and have no cracks. Three-quarter (azal- ea) pots are the type usually preferred but standard clay pots are adequate. The holes in the bottoms of the pots can be enlarged with a hammer to aid in drainage and to improve aération. Potting Technique: When repotting an orchid, the grower has an ideal op- portunity to clean the plant, removing the dry sheaths covering the pseudo- bulbs and removing any scale insects (see Orchid diseases, Insect pests) by scrubbing infested areas with an aque- ous solution of DDT. An old tooth brush works fine for this scale remov- ing process. After cleaning the plant, the strings attaching it to the sup- porting wire stake should be cut and the stake removed. The plant can be easily removed from the pot by inserting a pair of 10 scissors half way down between the pot and the root ball. Then by pry- ing up with the scissors the plant can be popped out of the pot with the root system intact. If the plant is too large to be in- serted into an easily handled pot, it should be divided. division should have at least three ma- Each separated ture pseudobulbs with leaves for every lead (growing tip). This will insure that every division will have the leaf surface area needed to produce enough food for normal growth and develop- ment. The rhizome should be cut using a pair of sharp pruning shears at the selected point between two pseudobulbs. The rest of the root ball can then be cut through with a key- hole saw. The next step in potting is to select the proper pot for each separated division. It is essential to use a pot which is not so large that the roots and medium are constantly wet nor so small that the contents are always dry. Most growers select a pot that will allow the inserted plant enough room to make two or three successive growths. The plant should always be potted so as to allow maximum room for future growth. This means that the oldest part of the plant should be butted against the pot in such a way as to allow the lead bulb to sit in the middle of the pot. The pot selected should be filled to one-fourth full with crock. Then the division should be held in one hand, with the rhizome horizontal and about one-half inch below the rim of the pot; while, with the other hand, the fir bark should be filled in below and around the plant until it reaches the level of the rhizome. After this, the bark can be pressed down slightly with the thumbs, and a little more added to bring it to the top of the rhizome. Insert the wire stake, taking care not to injure any dormant “‘eyes’’ lo- cated at the base of the pseudobulbs. Each bulb can then be tied to the wire stake in such a way that one leaf does not shade or hide another. After at- taching the label indicating the date of repotting to the plant, it is ready to be returned to the growing area. Post-potting Care: A newly potted orchid must receive special treatment until it recovers from the shock of re- potting. This means the plant should be placed under slightly reduced light and watered sparingly until the roots are near normal. It should never be over-watered, for without an _ estab- lished root system to absorb excess moisture, the pot can remain saturated for an indefinite period and the newly developing roots will be smothered and will die. Newly potted plants should never be placed in a cold damp environment with little or no moving air, for these conditions are detri- mental to root development. If the fir bark is used without added nutrients, it is necessary to feed the plants monthly with a standard water- soluble chemical fertilizer at the strength recommended for house plants. 11 GROWING CATTLEYAS IN THE HOME Cattleyas can be grown in the home. Every day home orchid enthusiasts are proving that this is true and that the experts who say it can’t be done are wrong. It should be stated in the be- ginning that home orchid growers have brought out a fact which was not thoroughly understood prior to the home culture endeavor; and that is, that most orchid plants will grow and flower in an environment where one factor is not optimum. However, if two or more environmental factors are not optimum, the plant has difficulty surviving. This is important for the home culturist to know for he is grow- ing his plants in a borderline habitat where the critical environmental fac- tors must be carefully regulated. Ana- lyzing the conditions in the average home, it becomes quickly apparent that the following factors are not optimum: Humidity. The normal home has a relative humidity below the de- sired optimum for Cattleyas. Light. Home conditions usually have too low light intensity. Temperature. Most home night temperatures are above those re- quired by Cattleyas. Home orchid growers have over- come the above limitations in the following ways. Place plants in a bright sunny window with at least 6 hours of direct sun exposure a day. Some shading may be necessary in the spring and fall. The plants should be placed over (NOT IN, see diagram) a pan or tray containing gravel that is kept wet which helps to maintain a slightly higher humidity in the area of the plants. The plants can be sprayed daily; but this is not mandatory. During the winter months, the win- dow area will be slightly cooler than the inner room area and consequently, the environment of the plants will be cooler, particularly at night. There- fore, care should be taken to prevent the plants from becoming chilled on severely cold nights. Most home growers have found that their plants benefit tremendously by being placed out of doors from May to September. They can be staged under trees or actually hung in the trees. Here the orchids should receive some direct morning and evening sun; but should be in filtered light during the rest LEAF OLD NON-BLOOMING BACK PSEUDOBULBS V1 ye Mf WY / at RHIZOMES ee PSEUDOBULBS > | (POTENTIAL NEXT 4 > ROOTS YEAR'S BLOOM) SRN Ge RY ie FIRMLY PACKED ss ? Wy, 2a } OSMUNDA FIBER POROUS ( vw. TO SUPPORT PLANT CLAY POT——__]||-. 5) . / \ 7) : CLAY POT ANS. 2 INVERTED WET GRAVEL /) FOR HUMIDITY BROKEN CROCKERY FOR DRAINAGE COURTESY JOHN EF. NIES B2 of the day. Out of doors, orchid plants require considerably more water and, especially at this time, they should not be neglected. Some Cattleya species and hybrids have proven themselves more suitable for home culture than others. Cat- tleya mossiae and its hybrids as well as the many beautiful Brasso-Cattleya hybrids are good home culture subjects. THE CYPRIPEDIUMS All of the Lady Slipper-type orchids belong to the Cypripedium group which contains only one extensively cultivated genus, the Paphiopedilums, epiphytic orchids native to Asia. The genus Cyprepedium may be familiar as a wild flower, since these Lady Slippers are terrestrial plants indigenous to North America. They are extremely hard to cultivate and are never grown in the greenhouse or home. Another genus in this group, Selenopedium, has never been successfully cultivated. The Paphiopedilums, then, are the Cypripediums of cultivation and horti- culturists refer to them as such, or more frequently, by the affectionate abbreviation, “Cyps.”’ This name will be used here in place of the proper botanical name. Temperature: The Cyps are divided into two main groups according to their temperature requirements. The “warm” Cyps, distinguished by their mottled leaves, grow best at day tem- peratures from 75° to 80° and night temperatures of about 60°. The “cool” Cyps, with plain green leaves, require day temperatures from 70° to 75° and night temperatures from 50° to 55°. The warm varieties can be grown with Cattleyas, while the cool ones grow well with other cool or- chids. However, both types can be grown together successfully, providing that the night temperature is care- fully regulated at 55° to 58°. Light: Cyps require considerably less light than Cattleyas; 2000 F.C. or about 20 percent of out-of-door sum- mer light intensity is about optimum. As with Cattleyas, the color and tex- ture of Cyp leaves are good indicators of whether or not the plant is receiv- ing the proper intensity of light. A well-grown Cyp should have deep green, rigid leaves free from the sur- face wrinkles that would indicate tissue dessication. Slight shading of greenhouse glass is necessary from mid-February to May and in the fall season. Heavier shad- ing will be required during the sum- mer months and none at all during the coldest months of winter. Watering: With respect to watering needs, the Cyps differ from most of the other cultivated orchids in two ways: they lack pseudobulbs or any other water-storing organs and _ they have continuous growth. These char- acteristics dictate that the potting medium of Cyps should never become completely dry. No precise pot- watering schedule for these plants can be given; although, most growers give them a good soaking three times a week during the warm months and two times a week during the winter months. Overhead sprinkling — of plant leaves and greenhouse walks on sunny days is always beneficial and should be done several times a day during the hot weather. Care should always be taken that water does not remain in the new growths for ex- tended periods of time for new tissue can rot quickly. Ventilation: A damp stagnant at- mosphere will quickly arrest the devel- opment of Cyp flower buds and pre- vent their opening. Since these orchids thrive in a fresh invigorating atmos- phere every effort should be made to maintain adequate ventilation through- out the year. Potting: Soon after flowering, Cyps should be repotted and divided, if necessary, in the manner described for Cattleyas. The plant should be in- serted about one-half inch below the surface of the potting medium. If it is set higher it will dessicate and if 13 lower it will usually rot. Cyps also prefer small pots; too large a pot can induce waterlogging and root rot. Newly potted plants should not be pot-watered until a new root system has been established. Until that time overhead sprinkling of leaves several times a day will prevent dessication of the plants. Garden and Home Culture: Many growers place their plants out of doors during the summer where they are grown in lath houses or under shade trees. Cyps will grow vigorously under these conditions, providing sufficient shade and water are supplied. “Warm” Cyps make excellent home culture subjects and can be treated like almost any house plant. They should be placed over a gravel tray and kept moderately moist in an east win- dow. In air conditioned homes both cool and warm Cyps seem to grow well. Many excellent specimen plants have been grown by home orchid enthusiasts. THE CYMBIDIUMS Cymbidiums are Asian orchids, in- digenous to high elevations of the Himalayan and Khasia Mountains. The beautiful flowers of these orchids are carried on long arching sprays and their delicate colors, heavy waxy sub- stance, and good keeping qualities have made them favorites with orchid grow- ers everywhere. More frequently than not, Cym- bidiums are the stepchildren of the Horticul- turists know less about the environ- average orchid collection. mental factors which influence their growth and flowering than they do about any other major group of or- chids. Although the general require- ments for Cymbidium culture have been established, the Cymbidium grow- er should be warned that many plants simply do not conform to any recog- nized flowering pattern and will per- sistently defy all efforts to induce flowering. Temperature: Cool nights and mild days typify the mountain regions where Cymbidiums grow. Ideal day temperatures in the greenhouse should 14 be 70° to 75° and night temperatures 50° to 55°. Summer temperatures in many areas will average considerably higher than this but the heat will not appreciably restrict growth and devel- opment providing all other environ- mental factors are maintained near optimum. Temperatures which fluc- tuate rapidly are undesirable, especially during the growing period for they can inhibit growth in some Cym- bidium clones. Bud initiation nor- mally occurs from August 15 to January 1. During this period cooler temperatures, preferably below 55° at night and under 75° during the day are necessary for flower bud initiation in many Cymbidium species and their hybrids. Light: Cymbidiums require higher light intensities than Cattleyas, with 4000 F.C. of light being optimum for most varieties. Shading would there- fore be lighter than for Cattleyas. High light intensities seem to be neces- sary, not only for good vegetative development, but also to promote flower bud initiation. Watering: Cymbidium potting me- dium should never be allowed to ap- proach the point of drying out. Plants potted in a well-drained compost can be flooded three times a week during the winter months; and, during the hot summer, daily pot-watering is not excessive. Restricted watering or se- vere drying of the potting medium during the growing season will usually stunt the developing growths and retard flowering. Ventilation: Abundant fresh air is essential to good Cymbidium culture. It is especially important to admit fresh air during the winter months to avoid a stale atmosphere while flower buds are developing. Feeding: Cymbidiums are heavy feeders and most growers apply mild applications of organic or commercial fertilizers every two weeks during the growing season, from March through October. Potting: Potting of Cymbidiums should be done immediately after flow- ering. At this time new growths are developing and the plants will have several months of cool weather in which to establish vigorous root sys- tems before unfavorable summer con- ditions arrive. Cymbidiums do not like to be repotted, neither do they like small containers. It is advisable, there- fore, to pot all mature plants in pots large enough to accommodate two or even three years of growth. Many types of potting mixtures have been used successfully in Cym- bidium culture; until now there have been as many Cymbidium potting mix- tures developed as there are Cymbid- ium growers. Throughout the Middle West. most growers are now using fir bark. Frequently a little sand, about one-eighth the total volume is added to the fir bark. The potting tech- niques described for Cattleyas apply also to Cymbidiums. After being re- potted, plants should have reduced light and limited water (enough to prevent drying of medium), until a new root system has been established. Garden and Home Culture: Year- round garden culture of Cymbidiums is possible in areas where the nights are cool enough for bud initiation yet where the temperature does not fall below 28°. open bed plantings are possible in such Both pot culture and areas. Where winters are colder, Cymbidiums can be placed out of doors from May through September. A lath house is an excellent outdoor growing structure for Cymbidiums, but, in lieu of a lath house, a good 15 shade tree can be employed to shelter the plants in the cool, open air during the hot summer. Cymbidiums cannot be recommend- ed for home culture. Light, tempera- ture, and humidity requirements are below optimum in the home and the plants quickly deteriorate. THE ODONTOGLOSSUMS The Odontoglossum group inhabits the tropical areas of the Western Hemisphere from Florida south to Argentina and is found growing from sea level to 12,000 ft. elevations. This group is the largest and most interest- ing one in the Orchid family. The flowers exhibit almost incredible vari- ations which have made these fascinat- ing orchids the favorites of many The three most important cultivated genera in amateur orchid growers. this group are the Oncidiums, the Miltonias and the Odontoglossums. Also many beautiful inter-generic hybrids have been made, particularly by European growers, who are the leaders in Odontoglossum hybridizing. ONCIDIUM Oncidiums grow well if potted in fir bark, although many species are natural creepers and_ horticulturists find that they do best when wired to a slab of tree-fern (Cibotium sp.) or allowed to grow up a tree-fern pole Light, water, aération and fertilizer require- which is placed in the pot. ments for most Oncidiums are similar to those stated for Cattleyas. The “warm” and “intermediate” Oncidi- ums grow and flower well at Cattleya temperatures; but the “cool” or high altitude members of this genus prefer night temperatures near 50° and day temperatures from 60° to 70°. The warm and intermediate Oncidiums will grow well out of doors in the summer if placed in a lath house or A few growers have been successful in grow- hung under a shade tree. ing Oncidiums in the home, where E. L. EVINGER Oncidium Burgefianum growing on a tree- fern raft. E. L. EVINGER Oncidium varicosum growing on a tree-fern pole. they are usually cultivated like Cat- tleyas. MILTONIA The Miltonias, frequently called the “pansy orchids,” are moderately cool growing Orchids. They grow well at the temperatures prescribed for Cym- bidiums and under the light intensities prescribed for Cyps. Miltonias deteri- orate rapidly in extreme heat; and, consequently, they are difficult sub- jects for areas with hot summers. They require copious watering during their vegetative period; but a damp stagnant atmosphere should be avoided for it encourages leaf spotting diseases which are common to Miltonias. Like the Cyps, the Miltonias prefer small pots. They should be repotted after flowering, using the methods and materials described for Cattleya pot- ting. Miltonias will grow well in a shady and cool garden spot during the summer. They cannot, because of temperature requirements, be recom- mended for home culture. ODONTOGLOSSUM Most of the Odontoglossums are in- digenous to high elevations in the Andes mountains, where they are found growing at altitudes from 8000 to 12,000 ft. tremely difficult to grow in any area These plants are ex- where hot summer conditions prevail. They require night temperatures of 45° to 50° and day temperatures from 60° to 70°. “Odonts,” like Miltonias, deteriorate rapidly under hot summer conditions; such innovations as evap- orative coolers have made it possible to grow these lovely orchids in areas where previously they could not be grown. 5 ‘IOMOP Jopy | suoN | Ay uo ¢ Ajieq | ¢¢6-0¢6 62-02 0002 sdAy Joop ‘IY | ay "IOMOL] JIFY | FON | ApyuoW | ¢ Apreq | 09-<¢¢ 08-02 0002 sdAyy wiry ser: a Mr | $1001 MIU UG | sUON ATy U0 Zz ¢ 09 ¢8—0Z WOKS vAaqaeg ae sours ae | 20a UT A gaming =— | 193 UT Ay (“q saaa3ap) (so[purs 1003) LYVHO AYNLTINO GIHOWO BOARD OF TRUSTEES Rosert Brooxincs SMITH, President Henry HitcHcock Leicester B. Faust, Vice-President JoHNn S. LEHMANN Henry B. Prriacer, Second Vice-President RicHarD J. Lockwoop DaNIEL K. CATLIN Rospert W. OrTo DupLey FRENCH WarRREN MCKINNEY SHAPLEIGH EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS H. Lee Bruns President of the Board of Education of St. Louis ETHAN A. H. SHEPLEY, Chancellor of Washington University ARTHUR C. LICHTENBERGER, Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri STRATFORD LEE Morton > RayMonp R. TUucKER, President of the Academy of Science Mayor of the City of St. Louis of uis Secretary Oscar E, GLAESSNER HORTICULTURAL COUNCIL Clifford W. Benson, Paul Bernard, Mrs. Paul H. Britt, Hugh C. Cutler, Robert E. Goetz, Paul Hale, Earl Hath, Mrs. W. Warren Kirkbride, Mrs. Hazel Knapp, Emmett J. Layton, Francis McMath, D. O’Gorman, Robert W. Otto, G. W. Pennewill, W. F. Scott, Robert Brookings Smith, Robert Waln, F. W. Went, E. G. Cherbonnier, Chairman. Frits W. Went STAFF Director Executive Director Hugh C, Cutler Edgar Anderson Henry N. Andrews Curator of Useful Plants Paleobotanist Evelyn Barbour Research Assistant and Editor of BULLETIN Clarence Barbre Instructor Louis G. Brenner Ladislaus Cutak Arborist and Grounds Superintendent Horticulturist and Greenhouse Superintendent Josephine L. Davies Assistant in Education Carroll W. Dodge Mycologist Robert Dressler Taxonomist and Editor of ANNALS John D. Dwyer Research Associate E. L. Evinger Horticulturist in charge of Experimental Greenhouse Robert J. Gillespie In charge of Orchids Oscar E. Glaessner Controller Paul A. Kohl Floriculturist Emmet J. Layton Landscape Architect Viktor Muehlenbachs Research Associate Norton H. Nickerson Morphologist Kenneth O. Peck Isabella T. Powell In charge of Visitors’ Activities Friends of the Garden Secretary George H. Pring Superintendent Kenneth A. Smith Engineer Research Associate Julian A. Steyermark Frank Steinberg George B. Van Schaack Superintendent of the Arboretum, Gray Summit Librarian and Curator of Grasses Trifon von Schrenk Associate Curator of the Museum Robert E. Woodson, Jr Curator of Herbarium Phaius Miltonia Volume XLVI ulletin rer 1999 Number 2 CONTENTS The Missouri Botanical Garden in 1958 Cover: A group of children in rapt attention as Mr. Kenneth Peck instructs them in how to identify the different kinds of trees by their leaves. Photo by Paul Hodges, courtesy Globe-Democrat. Oftice of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. Editorial Ofhcee: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis 10, Missouri. Published February, March, April, June, September, and November by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $2.50 a year. fntered as second-class matter January 20, 1942, at the post-oflice at Galesburg, Illinois under Act of March 3, 1879. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Vol. XLVII No. 2 March, 1959 THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN IN 1958 F. W. WENT ano HUGH C. CUTLER T HE upward swing of the last few years in the activities of the Mis- souri Botanical Garden has continued during 1958. ments were made, garden maintenance Several new appoint- was increased and the educational pro- gram was expanded, all as a result of increased support from Friends of the Garden and from special and other grants. These advances were reflected in the increased attendance and the excellent spirit of the employees. Yet, much more remains to be done before the Garden is back to its prominent position of the early part of the century. A number of important changes were made during the year. One of them was the moving of our large and significant orchid collection from the Arboretum at Gray Summit to the greenhouses in the Garden, When the Mayor Raymond R. Tucker and the orchid named in his honor, Cattleya X Mayor Tucker. Photo courtesy Post-Dispatch. smoke nuisance in St. Louis had be- come so great that the orchids were seriously damaged, a set of greenhouses were constructed on the newly ac- quired land at Gray Summit, 30 miles west of St. Louis, and in the summer of 1926 most of our orchids were transported from the city greenhouses to the new range. In his 1926 report Dr. Moore said “although these plants have been in their new environment less than six months, the improvement in growth is little short of phenomenal. Their removal from the influence of the poisonous gases of the city... [has caused an] increase in the growth and the health of the orchids so great as to justify the belief that within a few years the Missouri Botanical Garden can compete with the orchid world, not only in quantity and variety, but also in the quality of plants.” All of us were watching with great interest (and some misgivings) the outcome of the move back to the city during the spring months—February to July. Thus far it seems that most plants have tolerated the now-clean city air without setbacks and our orchids are in excellent condition. As a token of appreciation of the Garden for our regained clean air a new Cat- tleya hybrid produced at the Garden was named ‘Mayor Tucker” for his magnificent fight and signal success in combatting and conquering the St. Louis smoke problem. (25) 26 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Some fans and evaporative coolers have been installed in the greenhouses now occupied by the orchid collection to keep temperatures in those houses down during the hot summer. Yet some plants, such as the Miltonias, are suffering from high temperatures, which are higher in town than at Gray Summit. Another important improvement at the Garden was the extension of the educational program. Both Dr. Nor- ton H. Nickerson and Miss Josephine Davies have joined our staff in the education department this year. The number of courses now offered at the Garden has been increased, and a new children’s program for Saturday morn- ings has been started. The Pitzman Nature Program proved to be very popular, and a total of 230 children received certificates for completing the two 5-week study courses. This year we had a grant of $30,000 from the National Science Foundation for rehabilitation of Herbarium and Library and a similar amount has been granted for 1959. Dr. Robert E. Woodson, appointed Curator of the Herbarium, and Dr. George Van Schaack, now Librarian, have been active in rearranging offices and col- lections to make them most effective. The Systematics Symposium was held on October 24 and 25 and was, as in previous years, a great success. A total of 227 scientists from 61 insti- tutions registered at the Symposium which, because of its size, could not be held in the Museum Building. Instead, the Floral Display House was trans- formed into a meeting room where, under the joint chairmanship of Dr. Edgar Anderson, Curator of Useful Plants at the Garden, and Dr. Robert L. Usinger, Professor of Entomology at the University of California, a total of 5 talks on the general theme of “Taxonomic Consequences of Man’s Activities’’ stimulated lively discus- sions. At noon on Saturday a buffet style luncheon brought the partic- ipants together in informal discussions. The previous evening, refreshments were served at a Smoker in the Mu- seum Building from 7 to 10 P. M. Six members of the Board of Trus- tees accompanied Dr. Went and Dr. Cutler on a trip to botanical gardens in the Eastern United States, for the purpose of studying botanical garden problems in other localities. The fab- ulous Longwood Gardens, maintained by the Pierre Du Pont Estate (the Longwood Foundation), aroused our envy because of the apparent absence of financial problems. Their displays of flowers and plants are unrivaled. It was gratifying to see there the extent of influence of the Missouri Botanical Garden in horticultural mat- ters. A set of heated waterlily pools were constructed to display tropical water lilies—many of them hybrids developed here by Mr. Pring. The Director, Dr. Russell Seibert, is a for- mer student and staff member of our Garden. Visits to the New York and Brook- lyn Botanic Gardens indicated the degree of tax support so many of our most prominent botanical gardens re- ceive without being hampered by political interference. Of special in- terest were the restoration of the Lorillard Snuff Mill, now made into MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 27 a most attractive restaurant, and the large research laboratory, just complet- ed, both at the New York Botanical Garden, and the educational facilities at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Other educational visits were made by a number of the Garden employees to the Morton Arboretum, the Chica- go Natural History Museum, and Gar- field Park Conservatories in Chicago. No report on the activities of the Garden would be complete without reference to a number of supporting organizations. The Friends of the Garden are becoming increasingly im- portant as a source of financial and moral support and as a group of per- sons ready to help in other respects. At the end of the year they numbered 2,520, and income from memberships amounted to $29,795.06. The Wom- en’s Association of the Garden organ- ized a membership drive which resulted in an increase in membership of 287. Several additions to the Garden staff became possible through the increased income from these additional member- ships. Also through the Friends of the Garden a publicity head is employed at the Garden. The Women’s Association has in- creased its activity. Its members have helped maintain the Shaw Tower Grove country house, and have redecorated the Director’s Office with telling re- sults. Whenever a demand for help was directed to them they rose to the occasion. The Horticultural Council has, as in previous years, been helpful in Garden matters, in supplying materials (for instance, for the Rose Garden, which was more beautiful than ever in 1958) and in helping with labeling plants. Photo by Roy Cook, courtesy Globe-Democrat. Letters soliciting new members for Friends of Garden are checked before mailing by officers of the Federated Garden Clubs of Missouri. They are, from left: Mrs. Earl H. Hath, board member, Mrs. Campbell Alexander, assistant director of East Central district, and the director, Mrs. Hazel L. Knapp. 28 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN THE GARDEN, PAST AND FUTURE Now, at the end of the first century of existence of the Missouri Botanical Garden, it seems fitting to take a look backwards, and to see to what extent the Garden has fulfilled the wishes of its creator, Henry Shaw. In his will, written in 1885, four years before his death, Shaw stressed three functions of the Missouri Botan- ical Garden. They should be: 1) “having for the use of the pub- lic a Botanical Garden easily accessible, which should be forever kept up and maintained for the cultivation and propagation of plants, flowers, fruit and forest trees, and other productions of the vegetable Kingdom; and a mu- seum and library connected therewith, and devoted to the same and to the science of Botany, Horticulture, and allied objects.” “The director... shall employ his energies, that from year to year the institution under his charge shall grow up in efficiency in promoting the ends in View in its inception.” 2) “I declare my intention that instruction to garden pupils shall be attended to, both in practical and scientific, horticulture, agriculture and arboriculture, and consider it an im- portant feature to always keep up the ornamental and floricultural character of the garden.” 3) “I also declare that scientific in- vestigations in Botany proper, in vege- table physiology, the diseases of plants, the study of the forms of vegetable life, and of animal life, injurious to to vegetation, experimental investigations in horticulture, arboriculture, etc., are to be promoted no less than instruction to pupils.” In addition, his will stresses the ties Shaw hoped there would be between Washington University and the Gar- den; with this particular idea in mind he established a School of Botany at the University. In many respects the Garden has realized the hopes and expectations of Henry Shaw. It has become not only locally, but also nationally and internationally known. Local interest centers around the garden, greenhouses, and the frequent flower shows, which attracted 250,000 in 1958. The educational aims of Henry Shaw, especially in the field of scien- tific Botany, have been clearly achieved in the past years, and it is gratifying to look over the long list of botanists who have received their professional training at the Missouri Botanical Gar- den. The Garden offers ideal condi- tions for the training of practical gardeners; and the training for other professions, such as landscape archi- tect, also requires the facilities of a great botanical garden. Education of children and of ama- teur gardeners has been particularly stressed during the last years. Garden- ing and plant growing are among the most rewarding of leisure time pur- suits, and thousands of people get a great satisfaction out of learning more about nature by observing it at first hand. The Garden is the logical place to help in these activities, to provide information, import materials and ed- ucate to observe and record properly. It is gratifying to hear over and over again how visits to the Missouri Botan- MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 29 ical Garden as a child have shaped the interest in plants of so many persons, now recognized botanists, gardeners, or nature lovers. Development of an organization can only be effective when it is clearly understood what goals have to be achieved. As indicated earlier, Henry Shaw, through his botanical advisors, had a very good idea of what should be accomplished. Development of the Garden actually followed these ideas rather closely. Now, one hundred years since the founding of the Garden, it is necessary to re-evaluate the original aims in re- lation to present-day requirements, and to map a course of action, which does not necessarily have to be fol- lowed, but which indicates desirable and possible ends. For this reason work has been started on a Master Plan for development of the Garden. Funds for this Master Plan in the amount of $25,000 were provided by the Greensfelder Foundation. The firms of Layton, Layton and Rohr- bach, landscape designers, and _ of Murphy and Mackey, architects, were retained for this Master Plan develop- ment. Compared with last century, attend- ance at the Garden has _ increased manyfold and the subsequent develop- ment of the automobile necessitates close attention to parking needs and avenues of access. Modern develop- ments in greenhouse construction, es- pecially as regards air conditioning, pose new problems. The almost ex- plosive interest in basic science is another aspect to be considered in the development of the Garden during its second century. Since its inception many centuries ago, the botanical garden has changed from a simple collection of medicinal plants into a general institution, en- compassing 1) living collections, often aug- mented by a museum of preserved materials 2) facilities for flower shows 3) a herbarium and library 4) a horticultural center, bringing gardeners and scientists together 5) an information center for all plant information 6) a research center, involving botanical and horticultural research 7) a center for plant introduction and for testing of new materials 8) a breeding center, to produce better plants for local conditions 9) a training center for gardeners 10) the teaching of children and adults, both on a professional and an amateur basis 11) the publication of information on plants 12) lectures, being a general center of intellectual activities 13) a good environment for the special interests of historians Within this framework we will con- sider some of the activities we must provide for in the Master Plan of our future development. All greenhouses are old (40-50 years) and for many years were in poor repair. Some of them, such as the Succulent House, the Floral Display House, the Linnean House and the Plant Curiosity Houses were recon- ditioned and can now be operated sat- isfactorily for several more years, but 30 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN the growing houses, the Fern and Economic Houses and the Citrus House are in such condition that re- pairs are not warranted any more. The Palm House also would need extensive rebuilding at a prohibitive cost. With the exception of the boiler house, which is in good condition (ex- cept for the oldest of the three boil- ers), the service facilities are so poor that complete rebuilding is necessary. Taking all these facts into consider- ation, the Master Plan in its prelim- inary form envisages a complete set of new greenhouses, all interconnected for convenient circulation of the pub- lic. These greenhouses will be air conditioned, making it possible to grow plants from all parts of the world, and to keep the plants we now possess under the most advantageous growing conditions. Whereas the im- portance of air conditioning of green- houses for scientific studies has been amply proven, it is expected that the air conditioning of the new display house will start a completely new trend, to be followed by botanical gardens and parks all over the world. Parking space, now not available in the Garden for visitors, will be pro- vided through a parking lot to be con- tructed at the north-east corner of the Garden, with access from both Tower Grove and Shaw Avenues. Preliminary plans were prepared for an addition to our research facilities, and an application was made to the National Science Foundation for funds for this addition. This addition, in the form of a wing on the present herbarium and library building, will contain the research rooms for the taxonomists, laboratories for physiol- ogists and ecologists, library space for our most valuable books, a reading room and book stack space, and Direc- tor’s and Executive Director’s Offices. The grounds are to be developed into special gardens and_ ecological groupings, using especially the horti- culturally most important materials for the St. Louis area. At the same time the park aspects will be devel- oped, with emphasis on the most spectacular flowering plants. All the other activities of a com- plete botanical garden, mentioned earlier, are considered in the Master Plan development. Display areas for flower shows, a lecture hall, an en- trance building with information center and offices for horticulturists, a school and research building, — staff housing and a restaurant are all parts to be fitted into the complete Master Plan of the ideal botanical garden. The entire staff of the Missouri Bo- tanical Garden, from gardener to director, stand ready to implement the Master Plan, and to develop the garden, if possible, even beyond the dreams of Henry Shaw. To this end we need the very active support of the whole St. Louis community. xX LX THE HERBARIUM A grant from the National Science Foundation is permitting the first ma- jor improvement of the herbarium quarters since the present building was erected in 1907. lighting and additional herbarium cases New fluorescent MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 34 are being installed. The floors have been resurfaced and the unspeakably dreary brick interior walls will be camouflaged with vinyl paint in at- tractive shades. The ramshackle chairs and desks, which have been falling apart for some time, will be rehabili- tated or replaced. In short, before the year is out, the quarters of the her- barium will appear very much more in keeping with its hard-earned prestige and the value of its famous collections. But inadequate space presents in- creasingly grave problems not only restricting the necessary growth of the collections but depriving the staff of equally necessary processing and _ re- search rooms. Not only has no addi- tional space been available for the herbarium during the past 30 years: within the past five years it has lost over 10% of its former space (in the Shaw House and the Museum Build- ing) to other projects. As a result, until the past summer all the process- ing of our herbarium collections was confined to a room approximately 20 About 50‘; additional space for processing recently has been feet square! obtained through a leger-de-main of compression made possible by the Na- tional Science Foundation grant. For the herbarium of the Missouri Botan- ical Garden this temporary relief is a godsend: for another museum of equivalent size it would be ridiculous. The crisis of the Missouri Botanical Garden is that of the City of St. Louis and of all living things—if it cannot grow, however slowly, it will die. As for some years past, taxonomic research in the herbarium has centered largely about the compilation of the Flora of Panama, a project also sup- ported by the National Science Foun- dation. During 1958 three fascicles of the Flora were published in the Annals of the Missouri Botanical Gar- den, including families Passifloraceae through Melastomataceae of the Eng- ler system. Two additional fascicles are scheduled for 1959. In addition to his compilation of the Flora of Panama, Dr. Woodson has continued his studies of population structures in Asclepias tuberosa. Dr. Dodge has continued his studies of Antarctic and tropical African lichens, and Dr. Dressler has pursued various topics in Euphorbiaceae and Orchidaceae. Dr. John D. Dwyer, Research Associate at the Garden and Director of the Department of Biology, St. Louis University, using the research facilities of the Garden herbarium. Photo courtesy THE EDUCATIONAL FOCUS. 32 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Six graduate students of the Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington University have conducted their re- search in the herbarium during 1958 two of whom, Miss Kay Raeder (A.B., Pomona College) and Donald G. Rhodes (B.S., Southeastern Missouri College), received the degree of A.M. at the June commencement. Present- ly resident graduate students and the families of their dissertation research are: Lorin I. Nevling, Jr. (A.B., St. Mary’s College; A.M., Washington University ) —Thymelaeaceae; Henry J. Kaltenthaler (B.S., Pennsylvania University; A.M., Washington Uni- versity )—Rubiaceae; William C. Bur- ger (A.B., Columbia University; A.M., Cornell University )—Moraceae; How- ard Pfeifer (A.B., State University of lowa) —Aristolochiaceae. A heartbreaking loss to the herbar- ium and the Garden as a whole was sustained by the death in September of Miss Margaret Carroll, for a number of years the herbarium secretary. Miss Carroll’s duties have been transferred to Mrs. Irene Buersmeyer who former- ly was employed at the Naturmuseum Senckenberg, Frankfurt, Germany. HERBARIUM RECORDS—1958 Specimens accessioned: 807 sheets from 8 institutions Specimens mounted: ca. 5,000 sheets Exchanges sent: 1,161 sheets to 8 institutions Exchanges received: 4,599 sheets from 17 institutions Loans sent: 7,161 sheets to 32 insti- tutions Loans received: 1,113 sheets from 11 institutions Approximate total specimens in the herbarium: 1,717,160 sheets x XS RESEARCH IN USEFUL PLANTS Four graduate students in the Henry Shaw School of Botany have spent part of their time carrying on research work under the guidance of Dr. Edgar Anderson, Curator of Useful Plants. Mr. Hugh Rouk, who has been en- gaged in research, teaching, and ad- ministration in Ethiopia for the last six years, is back in the United States for a Sabbatical year and is carrying on basic research on variation in wild and semi wild Ethiopian coffees. Mrs. Erna Eisendrath has continued her investigations of Polianthes and of the history of botanical illustration with particular reference to the Gar- den’s splendid collection (started by Henry Shaw) of 17th and 18th cen- tury illustrated monographs (“botan- ical Icones”). Mrs. Hazel Rouk has begun graduate studies in botany and is studying Ethiopian spices under Dr. Anderson’s direction. Mr. William L. Murdy, who has been working jointly on fossil plants and maize has spent the major portion of the year analyz- ing variation in the stiffening and sup- porting tissues of the maize plant under the direction of Dean Henry N. Andrews, Jr., of the Henry Shaw School of Botany, and Dr. Anderson. Dr. Anderson and Dr Hugh C. Cutler, Executive Director, have both continued actively in their research programs related to prehistoric and modern maize. The National Acad- emy of Sciences’ Maize Committee (of which they are both members) devoted MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 33 Photo by Dick Coffin. Mr. Michael J. Wynne examining and mea- suring specimens of prehistoric maize. to collecting and describing the multi- tudinous varieties of maize in the New World, is now drawing its inter- national project to a close. Mr. G. Edward Nicholson Calle, Fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation for 1958- 59, was in St. Louis working with Dr. Anderson and Dr. Cutler before spending two months in South Amer- ica where he undertook various jobs for the Maize Committee in Bolivia and Columbia. somewhat over a month in Bogota, Dr. Anderson spent Colombia, during the summer on the same project. In November the Gar- den was official host for one day to a group of scientists who are engaged in this maize project. Dr. Cutler, with the support of a National Science Foundation grant is continuing with the description and identification of the world’s collec- tions of prehistoric maize, aided by his technical assistant, Mr. Michael J. Wynne. Mr. Wynne was a winner in the 1958 National Science Fair com- petition, where he exhibited some of the material with which he has been working at the Garden. He is now an undergraduate at Washington Uni- versity, majoring in Botany. During most of the summer, Mr. Robert Bird, as part of his work in botany at Cor- nell University, worked with Dr. Cutler and Dr. Anderson on projects in the field between Botany and Anthropology. LIBRARY In addition to its normal activities the library undertook an _ extensive binding program and considerable re- arrangement of quarters. ‘These proj- ects, largely made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation, will put hundreds of valuable but pre- viously unbound volumes in good con- dition for preservation. The change in quarters provides better working space both for users of the collections and for those caring for them. In particular, the major bibliographies have been relocated with the card cat- alog in a new and more convenient area. Book purchases for the year were much greater than in the recent past, several important journal sets being completed and other large trea- tises obtained. But all this is only an initial attack upon the large backlog of incomplete files, inadequate shelv- ing and poor physical condition of the collections. In particular, our very valuable rare book and folio collection is still most inadequately shelved, with many books in desperate need of re- binding or other major repair. 34 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN EDUCATION PROGRAMS Much activity has been provided during the past year for school chil- dren 7 to 19 years old. During the Spring and Fall, an estimated 8000 children and adults walked the Tree Trail. In the Summer months, the Pitzman Nature Program offered four courses in the natural sciences covering birds, animal and insect enemies, trees, and other plants. Two 5-week sessions were offered and of the 350 children who attended, 60% registered for all four courses. Individual classes con- tained as many as 65 children, and were instructed by officials of the St. Louis Audubon Society and Garden Staff members. (See Cover.) In October, 535 children from neighboring schools received instruc- tion on bulb culture. Each student was given two Paperwhite Narcissus bulbs to plant and take home. The newest education program, which started in December, offers Sat- urday morning activities for children. This program will be scheduled for every Saturday morning of the year and covers many phases of botany and horticulture. The weekly attendance average in December was 70 children. No fee was exacted for any of these activities. For adults, courses in bulb forcing, plant propagation, horticulture, spring flowers, orchid culture, and technical botany were taught by Clarence Barbre, Dr. Edgar Anderson, Robert J. Gillespie and Dr. Norton H. Nicker- son, and other members of the staff. Xt ORCHID DEPARTMENT During 1958 the orchid collection was moved from Gray Summit back to the city Garden. The actual moy- ing of plants began in February and was completed in July. The move was made under the direction of Robert Gillespie, in Charge of Orchids. Ar- ranging and organizing the collection in town occupied the orchid staff during the remainder of the year. Elimination of duplicate plants re- duced the number of plants to about one third the number formerly kept at Gray Summit. A large number of valuable plants new to our collection were acquired during the year, includ- ing a group of 56 new “botanical” species. The collection now has more genera and species than ever before. The Cattleyas, Cymbidiums, Paphi- opedilums, Dendrobiums, Vandas, and most of the ‘Botanicals’ seem ac- climated to the new location and have produced excellent vegetative growths and flowers. Dr. Hugh C. Cutler (left), executive direc- tor of the Garden, and Lad Cutak, greenhouse superintendent, unload orchids which are being moved back to the city from the Arboretum at Gray Summit. Photo courtesy Globe-Democrat. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 35 The 1958 Orchid Show was one of the largest orchid shows ever staged by the Garden. A massed bank of Cattleyas provided the brightest color spot but interest of the many visitors was centered mainly on the large col- lection exhibited for the first time by members of the Orchid Society of Greater St. Louis, and the large and unusual display of orchids from the Garden’s collection. PLANT INTRODUCTIONS Between four and five hundred species and/or varieties of hardy out- door plants are now growing in the Experimental Greenhouses and nurs- ery. During 1958, approximately two hundred and twenty-five new species were received as seeds, cuttings or plants from exchanges, gifts, and pur- chases. Many of these plants have been propagated and will be selected for trial for hardiness, growth charac- teristics, and for experimental study. The most promising plants will even- tually be incorporated in the Garden for display. More than one hundred new plants or replacements were planted in permanent locations in the Garden during the Spring and Fall planting seasons of 1958. The plant introduction and trial work is carried on by Horticulturist Ed Evinger. GREENHOUSES All greenhouse and display activities are under the direction of Greenhouse Superintendent Ladislaus Cutak. Plant- ings in the main greenhouse range were replanted and thinned because some of the plants were spreading out of bounds. This work was done by Al Mielezarek. Fog systems for cooling and raising humidity were installed in some of the Exotic Houses for the orchid collection from Gray Summit. One of the sheds adjoining the Display House was renovated to serve as an Orchid Laboratory by scraping and painting the walls, installing electric lighting system, and _ constructing benches and shelves. The house formerly used for citrus trees is now used for the plants grown by the Greater St. Louis Chrysanthe- mum Society for their exhibit in the annual Chrysanthemum Show. The waterlily collection, which forms an outstanding attraction dur- ing the summer months in the outdoor pools, required a great deal of prepara- tion in the early part of the year. The propagation of waterlily tubers starts in January and continues for several weeks until several hundred potted plants are obtained for our own use. Nearly a hundred lilies are needed to adequately plant the pools. A_ pre- season display of waterlily blooms was kept open during April in the indoor tanks. The waterlilies were planted outdoors on May 12th and remained in the pools until late October. The rockery in the old Curiosity House was torn down to make an effective staging for orchid displays. EXHIBITIONS AND FLOWER SHOWS The number of shows and the ex- tent of our displays continue to grow. 36 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Photo by Paul A. Kohl. The 1958 Chrysanthemum Show in the Floral Display House. Some of the more important displays were of poinsettias, orchids, azaleas and other spring flowers, hydrangeas, and chrysanthemums. Competitive shows were held for daffodils, African violets, roses, spring flowers and vege- tables, cacti, fall flowers and garden products, and dahlias. A constant succession of interesting flowering ma- terial is shown in attractive settings in the Display House and adjacent green- houses. While most of the work for competitive shows is done by the soci- eties which stage them, there are many jobs connected with these which must be performed by the greenhouse and grounds crews. A new event in our Display House was the Junior League Show ‘Master Cat,” which was given for children on October 18th and was well liked. Garden were taken to Christ Church Flowers grown at the Cathedral for the annual Henry Shaw Flower Sermon given April 20th by Rev. Theodore O. Wedel, Canon of Washington Cathedral and Warden of the College of Preachers. The grow- ing of plants for special displays and MISSOURI BOTANICAL the design and installation of most special exhibits is supervised by the Garden’s Floriculturist, Paul Kohl. MAINTENANCE ENGINEERING Under the supervision of Engineer Kenneth Smith and Assistant Engineer James Hampton, the usual good main- tenance and repair work on the heat- ing plant and equipment was done. Installation work on boilers in the Museum, Shaw House, Administration Building and Experimental Green- house was completed, electric outlets in Floral Display House added, the orchid lab prepared, fans in green- houses added, and the Curiosity House and Bromeliad House completely over- hauled. GROUNDS The effectiveness of the Grounds Maintenance program, under the direc- tion of Grounds Superintendent Louis GARDEN BULLETIN 37 Brenner, was demonstrated by their good condition throughout the season despite the only minor increase in labor. Change in grounds manage- ment technique, together with a re- vised system of labor deployment, have enabled effective and economic main- tenance. The winter months, early spring and late fall of the year were again de- voted to removal of trees considered to be of little botanical value, in poor health or crowding more valuable specimens. Some were removed to provide better lighting of conserva- tories. During sub-zero weather, rainy and snowy days, the Grounds Crew did maintenance work in the Experimental Greenhouse, Shaw Residence, Museum Building and in the Plant Conserva- tories and Growing Greenhouses. Lawn areas are continuing to im- prove and many lawns, as in the knolls, were remarkably fine throughout the * Photo courtesy Post-Dispatch. Janet and Sylvia Peck, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Peck, among the daffodils at the spring daffodil show. 38 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN year. A continued program of fer- tilizing, weed spraying, mowing and seeding will provide similarly excel- lent lawns throughout the Garden. The Rose Garden flourished in the rather cool summer of 1958 and the abundance of blooms attracted many visitors. Much of the beauty was the direct result of help from a group of volunteers, under the direction of Miss Betty Lou Custer. They carefully removed old flowers and kept a succes- sion of bloom in the Garden. Insects and fungal disease, especially Black- spot, were effectively controlled with the use of high pressure (600 lbs. per sq. in.) fog to apply fungicides. In this manner complete coverage, even on outlying borders, is quickly and efficiently obtained. Over 1000 gallons of spray material were applied to keep the Rose Garden in fine flowering condition. Heavy mulching of beds with wood chips and pecan shells greatly reduced maintenance problems and so preserved natural soil moisture that it was unnecessary to irrigate at any time during the growing season. The increase in special social and educational activities at the Garden have made ever increasing demands on the Grounds Maintenance Crew, who have the task of moving and setting up properties necessary for such func- tions. Improved technique in manage- ment of the grounds, particularly ex- tensive use of deep mulches, and of herbicides, the redesign of plantings to permit more efficient use of machin- ery, and effective deployment of labor have made it possible to help with such social and educational activities with- out overloading the work schedule of the Grounds Crew. The appearance of the grounds continues to improve. INFORMATION CENTER Mr. George Pring, Superintendent, and Miss Isabella Powell, Friends of the Garden secretary, maintained our information Center at the Main Gate, Miss Powell answering questions, sell- ing books and pamphlets which tell about plants, and doing all the secre- tarial work connected with the Friends of the Garden. Mr. Pring answered numerous requests for expert informa- tion, appeared on television and radio programs and gave a number of lec- tures. He visited Longwood Gardens as a consultant for their new waterlily pools. Many new books and pamphlets are now available and the number of people who come to the Information Center for special publications on plants is increasing. ATTENDANCE The number of visitors to the Gar- den continued to increase. The turn- stiles at the Main Gate recorded 240,960 visitors, 23,521 more than last year, and in addition an estimated 9,640 used the Cleveland Avenue gate or entered through the Alfred Avenue service gate. Turnstile figures for the past four years are: 1955 156,297 1956 198,472 1957 217,419 1958 240,960 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 59 SHAW HOUSE Each weekend members of the Eighth District of the Federated Women’s Clubs of Missouri served as hostesses, greeting visitors at the Shaw House and helping to create an air of hospitality. During the week, except for the months of December, January and February, Mrs. Walter Millan and Mrs. Will Wagner were hostesses. Photo courtesy Globe-Democrat. 1958 Veiled Prophet Queen, Carolyn Lee Neidringhous, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lee I. Neidringhaus, with bouquet of Orchids pre- sented by the Garden. The Queen and her two special maids, Miss Jeanne Behrens and Miss Mary Stephens Jones, held a special audi- ence for children in the parlors of the Shaw House, Saturday, October 11. ARBORETUM Superintendent of the Arboretum, Frank Steinberg, has continued, by virtue of his intelligent planning, ef- ficient use of equipment, and old- fashioned hard work, to keep the Arboretum in excellent condition and reduce expenditures. The area about the Pinetum Lake has never looked so attractive and the circular drive through this area is open to cars daily. The longer drive past the dogwoods, redbuds, and many drifts of natural- ized daffodils to the trail house and wildflower trails was open to cars for the six weeks in April and May when the flowers were at their best. Mowing the large grass areas, prun- ing trees and removing dead trees, and maintaining the roads takes most of the time of Superintendent Steinberg and his assistant, Emil Diener. Most of the farmland on the south bank of the Meramec River is under Soil Bank and Soil Conservation plans which yield a cash return, improve the land, and require very little labor. SX A PICTURE OF THE GARDEN Mr. Frank McCready has spent many days during several years in the creation of a colored film of the Gar- den. His projections of this film to groups in St. Louis and neighboring cities has helped to spread the know!- edge of the many beautiful and in- structive aspects of the Garden. x XX NATIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE GARDEN CLUBS HEADQUARTERS In December the offices of the Na- tional Council Headquarters opened with Mrs. Earl Hath as Executive Sec- retary. With about 400,000 members in nearly 13,000 clubs, this is the larg- 40 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN est gardening organization. Their head- ica. Some work remains to be done quarters here establishes St. Louis as on the building. The formal dedica- the gardening center of North Amer- tion will be held May 10th. BOARD OF TRUSTEES ROBERT BROOKINGS SMITH, President Henry HitcHcock Leicester B. Faust, Vice-President JOHN S. LEHMANN Henry B. Prracer, Second Vice-President RicHarpD J. Lockwoop DANIEL K. CaTLIN Rospert W. Orto DupLEY FRENCH WARREN MCKINNEY SHAPLEIGH EX-OFFICIO. MEMBERS ErHAN A. H. SHEPLEY, H. LEE Bruns Chancellor of Washington University President of the Board o1 Education ; : : of St. Louis GEORGE L. CaDIGAN, Kishup ot the Diocese of Missour: STRATFORD LEE MoRTON > KAYMOND R, TUCKER, President of the Academy ot Science Mayor of the City of St. Louis ot St. Louis Secretary Oscar E. GLAESSNER HORTICULTURAL COUNCIL Clifford W. Benson, Paul Bernard, Mrs. Paul H. Britt, Hugh C. Cutler, Robert E. Goetz, Paul Hale, Earl Hath, Mrs. W. Warren Kirkbride, Mrs. Hazel Knapp, Emmett J. Layton, Francis McMath, D. O’Gorman, Robert W. Otto, G. W. Pennewill, W. F. Scott, Robert Brookings Smith, Robert Waln, F. W. Went, E. G. Cherbonnier, Chairman. STAFF HEAT S RNY aN) CUMCC Ste ate bos sacs cc chcaenexd ec Tee ee eae ha eee IC eECLOL Hugh C, Cutler.......... Oe ag Face aie ae ak te Executive Director Edgar Anderson.......... Curator of Useful Plants FAeniay.. Niko Ail ewy.S eas noc once ee La 2 2S Id Ph, Joe ee Pia en eae Paleobotanist Evelyn BanbO Ut career eet ee Se Research Assistant and Editor of BULLETIN Clarence: Barbe: <.2c<-.c532 sat Oe en ee eee ne Instructor UNOS Gree ROD TC 22s se ie teagan cee ce Arborist and Grounds Superintendent MAIS WANS Co Na Kees eee taser ......Horuculturist and Greenhouse Superintendent OsepiinebL:s 1a ies: nc eee a ee ee Assistant in Education Carroll W. Dodge......... FE eee ty ar er WR A ee eer pe Eee Mycologist Robert Dressler.........2...-2-:.002020--0-- afte ees ee eee Taxonomist and Editor of ANNALS | Koyn\ a WA B Sons) BX 72 gee meee ener REE set Bee AE RRP Mev ne Aer Seo pee eee Research Associate |g Ca SATE yt 3 core ee neers eeeee errr oceee Horticulturist in charge of Experimental Greenhouse Reobere as Gilles piss 22, 5-2. <2: 00ss-acavaniccactans BO eS ee In charge of Orchids Oye Tam Ege Ed ETLST (cee RR eC aa ee ae ce Sore a ee ee Controller SATU Va Wa Gro) 0) Canetti a aaa en rp CS PO EP Pre Re Floriculturist | Seg Van yey cea EA Ee 1,7 oc 9 eerie ere ieee Seer eter ire ec ee eee ..Landscape Architect Viktor Muehlenbachs............ ee ee ee ae pee ney Air Veal Naan Tore Fes INN |(o) toy ay eae cI N Bie! fy oye foo peer tr ne Me rer er ne ee Ue rare tS Morphologist Kenneth O. Peck.....020000000..... Bee eet ere ree eran In charge of Visitors’ Activities Msabel lai tee 20 welll sisal cs oe A ccccvevscatsseecesctececes Friends of the Garden Secretary GOL Pere wTiNe foto..c o 0) > & t q \ = 74 ee? Al | Volume XL V | | Bs AP tiya September, 1959 Number ‘ CONTENTS ittle-known Facts on a Well-known Plant -eport on the New Greenhouse Construc- tion in the Missouri Botanical Garden Vhat’s in a name? lanting in the Climatron low Nature Prepares for Winter ook Review unior Research Teams of the Pitzman Nature Program Cover: Inflorescence of the heartleaf philodendron. Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis 10, Missouri. Published February, March, April, June, September, and November by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $2.50 a year. Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Galesburg, Illinois under Act of March 3, 1879, ’ Missour1 Botanical Garden Bulletin Vol. XLVII No. 5 SEPTEMBER, 1959 LITTLE-KNOWN FACTS ON A WELL-KNOWN PLANT r \HE most popular houseplant ever grown in America is probably the heartleaf philodendron. Its popularity is doubtlessly due to the ability of this species to grow satisfactorily away from the window in almost any posi- tion where the plant is needed for its decorative value. With the shift to simplicity in design of the modern home, plants were shifted from the window garden and became a_neces- sary supplement to good interior décor. This change brought about a search for new kinds of plants that would withstand the adverse growing condi- tions of the home while furnishing the desired decorative effects. It led to the introduction of many kinds of plants previously unfamiliar to the home- maker, such as bromeliads and new aroids'—plants whose beauty is their handsome foliage or interesting form rather than their flowers. Of all the plants used for their foliage alone, the aroids provide the greatest number of species for interior use. There are at least two hundred dif- ferent kinds of Philodendron, native from central Mexics and the West Indies to southermost Brazil and Uru- guay. The name of this group of plants comes from two Greek words ' Aroids include philodendron, dieffenbachia, chinese evergreen, the calla (-lily), and the native jack-in-the-pulpit. meaning “‘tree-loving.” It is an ap- propriate name, since many species of Philodendron have elongate stems that climb the tree trunks by means of aerial roots that grow at each joint of the stem. Often these vines grow high into the trees, and have contact with the soil only through their aerial roots which grow down and finally enter the soil. Such roots are very tough, and are an important cordage material in some tropical American regions. In other species, however, the stems are very short, and the plants appear nearly stemless, as in P. wendlandii. Such species grow in the forks of trees or upon rocks. Still other kinds de- velop a trunk and appear tree-like in age, like P. selloum. The common heartleaf philodendron belongs to the group with elongate stems with aerial roots for climbing. For years, this species has been offered on the market under the name of P. “cordatum”’. It is well established that the plant originally described under this name is altogether different from our heartleaf philodendron. The proper name of this latter plant ap- pears to be P. oxvycardinm, although there is some question about it. Until further detailed studies can be carried out, we may speak of this plant as P. oxycardium. In its original descrip- tion the author (A. Schott) made no (77) 78 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN mention of the material from which he drew his description, but in a publi- cation four years later, he noted that the plant was seen growing in cultiva- tion. It is typical that many of the philodendrons and other plants intro- duced into the gardens of Europe in the nineteenth century were unknown botanically. And indeed, there are undescribed species growing in our botanical gardens today! It is as if the plantsman always has the lead over the botanist, and despite the long and arduous journies of botanists into the wilds to collect the flora of any par- ticular region, the traveling plantsman will bring back and grow specimens of species unknown to science! Schott found the heartleaf _ philodendron growing in cultivation before 1854, so he described it as a new species. By 1879, many specimens of this species collected from the wild had accumu- lated in the botanical museums of Europe, and indicated that P. oxy- cardium occurs natively in the West Indies, Central America, and in north- ern South America. Subsequent col- lections show that this species occurs also in Mexico. In nature, most philodendrons in- habit areas of high rainfall where the soil remains moist even in the dry season. The temperature never falls much below 65°, and constant high atmospheric humidity exists. Philo- dendrons are most common in lowland rainforest areas where they form a conspicuous element in the forest flora. According to the plant records of 7In Bull. Missouri Bot. Gard. 43(7):105. 1955, L. Cutak erroneously reported their origin as Brazil. the Missouri Botanical Garden, cut- tings of the heartleaf philodendron were among the “plants received from Mr. Fendler from South America” about 1869 and later’. These records, however, were written in 1898, and possibly were copied from the original notes of Henry Shaw. August Fend- ler was a first-rate naturalist, and col- lected plants in southwestern United States as well as in tropical America. He spent four months of 1849 in Panama collecting at and above the mouth of the Rio Chagres, an area on the Atlantic side of the present-day Canal Zone. In 1859, Fendler went to Venezuela where he spent four years in the study of the flora and meterological phenomena. He _pre- pared many fine botanical specimens, collected especially in the region around Colonia Tovar, a settlement at 6500 feet altitude where he owned a small farm. He finally returned to the tropics and settled in a suburb of Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, in 1877. where he died in 1885. The specimen of heartleaf philodendron that he sent to Shaw’s Garden may well have come from any of these places, but the date “1869 and later” would suggest that When the species growing at this Garden is com- it came from Trinidad. pared with specimens collected in Venezuela, Trinidad, and Panama, we may have a more accurate idea of the origin of Fendler’s plant. Irrespective of its origin, there are plants derived from that introduction still growing luxuriantly on the central wall of the northwest wing of the Floral Display House. They are the best examples of the mature phase of this species known MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 79 to me. The stems climb about thirty feet to the roof, and the hanging tips often grow down again nearly to the ground. Their diameter equals or ex- ceeds that of a fountain pen. The larger leaves average about 13-14 inches long and about 9 inches wide. Unless heavily pruned, many blossoms are produced in June of each year. Upon first hearing this, many people ask: “You mean philodendrons have flowers?” With rare exceptions, all seed plants have flowers at some time during their life. Otherwise no seeds would be produced, and no new plants would grow. That philodendrons do not flower in our homes signifies lack of proper environmental conditions. But under ideal conditions of growth —conditions similar to those of the forest where the plants grow natively, flowering will occur periodically. A few species produce flowers almost constantly. Flowering of the heartleaf philo- dendron appears to be initiated when the days and nights are of nearly equal length, as in the tropical latitudes. At the latitude of St. Louis, this happens about March 21 and again on Septem- ber 21, but the plants do not respond to the September season. After initia- tion, many weeks are required for the blossoms to develop, and the first in- florescences open at the end of May. The inflorescence pictured on the cover is typical for philodendrons. It consists of a thick, leaf-like structure (the spathe) that is green or variously colored, wrapped around and envelop- ing a column covered with many very small flowers (the spadix). The spadix has the pistillate (female) flowers cov- ering the lower part, and the upper part is covered with staminate (male) flowers. Both sorts of flowers are so modified as to scarcely resemble flow- ers in the usual sense, but they possess the necessary structures for reproduc- tion—namely, pistil and stamens. The inflorescence of the heartleaf philodendron is about six inches long. The spathe is nearly cylindric, on the outside light green in the lower half, the upper part creamy-yellowish. The inside of the spathe is creamy except near the base where it becomes a rich cherry red. It is interesting that the only color on this elaborate blossom should be hidden deep inside away from the eyes of nature. The spadix is as long as the spathe, and its lower third is covered with female flowers. The upper part is covered with stam- inate flowers that exude droplets of sticky amber liquid, and it has a mild pungent fragrance, as does the cut tissue. The flowers are exposed to the ele- ments for a very brief period (about one day) when the upper half of the spathe unrolls to expose the staminate part of the spathe. At this time, the pistillate flowers are probably receptive to pollen, but the exposed male flowers are not yet producing ripe pollen. The spathe soon closes again very tightly around the spadix, after which the pollen is shed. How pollination is ac- complished in indeed a puzzle requir- ing further observation and_ study. No doubt, there are specific insects involved in the pollination of certain species. Their absence here may ex- plain the lack of seed production in the plants at the botanical garden. 80 MISSOURI BOTANICAL It appears that the Missouri Botan- ical Garden “has furnished the stock which made the Heartleaf Philoden- dron the universal houseplant that it is today.’ Mr. George H. Pring, Superintendent of the Garden, states that “cuttings from this vine were given to Bourdet Floral Company [of St. Louis] for trial as a possible com- mercial plant some 43 years ago.’”” The small-leaf trailing plants of P. cordatum” so familiar to us in the *Cutak, L. Bull. Missouri Bot. Gard. 43 GARDEN BULLETIN home are simply juvenile specimens which, if grown again in an ideal en- vironment, would attain the propor- tions of the mature plants described above. As long as a plant is kept in the home, the low moisture content of the air and the low light intensity, especially of winter, will prevent it from reaching the luxuriant form of which it is capable. But the small- leaf form has become the standard, so as long as your plants have decorative value, you need not worry about the size of the leaves. —GEORGE S. BUNTING yee (Photo by Kenneth Peck) MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 81 REPORT ON THE NEW GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION IN THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN N the beginning of June our large Palm House and the adjoining Economic and Fern Houses were de- molished to make room for the new Climatron, a greenhouse of strictly- modern design, which is to take their place this autumn. The old Palm House and ajoining houses were built in 1913, and had been among the most outstanding fea- tures of the Missouri Botanical Garden. The stately greenhouses, with their white columns in front, formed a beautiful background for the water lily pools for any visitors entering the Main Gate. However, in the course of time, the steel structure had deterior- ated and was badly rusted in many places. To repair these houses would have been almost prohibitively expen- sive. Another disadvantage of these old houses was that they allowed the entry of only a small fraction of the total amount of daylight which, especially during winter, slowed the growth of the greenhouse plants to a very large extent. Any modern greenhouse should be air-conditioned, especially in climates where the summer temperatures get very high, such as in most of the con- tinental United States. The original greenhouse was intended to grow tropical plants in a cool or cold cli- mate, such as England, Holland or Sweden. It was necessary only to heat the houses, which could be done by conventional methods. However, in areas where summer temperatures are very high, the inside of the greenhouse gets still warmer, and the growing conditions for most plants become very poor. Therefore, in climates like St. Louis, we need greenhouses which can be heated during winter and at night, and which can be cooled during day. This can only be done with air- conditioning. Thus, to have really effective greenhouses in St. Louis, they should be air-conditioned. Air-conditioning actually means the controlling of temperature, by intro- ducing air at the desired temperature. Thus the air must be cooled or heated before it is introduced into the green- house. For a tropical greenhouse, such as the Climatron will be, it is neces- sary to cool the air only to a limited degree, which can be done by evapora- tive cooling. To this end, air is passed through a spray of water. To evap- orate water, a large amount of heat must be supplied. As the water evap- orates in the air, it removes heat from the air, which is thereby cooled. This cooled air is then pulled through the Climatron by a battery of twenty large fans which distribute the air evenly through the house. The heating is accomplished in a somewhat similar manner. Instead of having heating coils all through the greenhouse, air is heated in an under- ground tunnel and is then injected along one side of the Climatron. It is pulled out again on the other side and 82 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN returned to the heater. In this way a continuous circulation of heated air goes through the house, keeping it at the desired temperature. me ae m & ig Z la BOARD OF TRUSTEES RoBertT BROOKINGS SMITH, President Henry HitrcHcock Leicester B. Faust, Vice-President JoHN S. LEHMANN Henry B. Prracer, Second Vice-President Robert W. Orto DANIEL K. CATLIN WaRREN MCKINNEY SHAPLEIGH DupLeEY FRENCH EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS ErHaNn A. H. SHEPLEY, H. Lee Bruns Chancellor of Washington University President of the Board of Education of St. Louis GrorceE L. CabiGAN, Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri STRATFORD LEE Morton, RayMonp R. TUCKER, President of the Academy of Science Mayor of the City of St. Louis of St. Louis Secretary Oscar E. GLAESSNER HORTICULTURAL COUNCIL Clifford W. Benson, Paul Bernard, Mrs. Paul H. Britt, Hugh C. Cutler, Robert E. Goetz, Paul Hale, Earl Hath, Mrs. W. Warren Kirkbride, Mrs. Hazel Knapp, Emmett J. Layton, Francis McMath, D. O’Gorman, Robert W. Otto, G. W. Pennewill, W. F. Scott, Robert Brookings Smith, Robert Waln, F. W. Went, E. G. Cherbonnier. Chairman. STAFF 1 SB eT Ran SNA | oon ee nee eT PO nt Oe ety eee ET aS Te IE re Director igen eCtlere = ooh ee , .....-Executive Director Edgar Anderson scs..02 tees eee e Curator of Useful Plants Henty- Ne ‘Andrew sii:2-28 ec ot Bea eee ln fe Ns Pies Paleobotanist Clarence Barbre ................ ...Instructor ouisaGee Secchi ee ee Arborist and Grounds Superintendent Siojd- fogs hea Dub bekd bel eerie ee ene 4 eee een Ee SN OS Db lA ee eee ee eee Taxonomist bevels BIE Ciiket ee ie ee eee oe Horticulturist and Greenhouse Superintendent Josephine L. Davies...... Assistant in Education aro MI, sg ODP es. 28 Si oi eo eee a Ree ek ke et Bee Merete me Mycologist Roberta ressler: 22.2 ecce re Taxonomist and Editor of ANNALS Jolhnes wen. 2 ee Pie ee see ee ae ee 7 8 CA. re ees Research Associate | Ses) ER) SR 2 V1) camer oa mee sree ee Horticulturist in charge of Experimental Greenhouse Robert J. Gillespie......... . In charge of Orchids (Osa tat ene G aens ne teva: eee site oe ete nee eco eee tae ee a eee Controller Paul A. Kohl..... Floriculturist LER KenL ol [Feel Be WA clay « Cieecen seme etn ee Oe yest Wt near A RSS, Nabe RIEDEL Landscape Architect AYGT ES TeVE DANY Col Ee Yess epaee eae ees mee en mE A nee ete Renan ae ese SURTNN ete Acting Editor of the BULLETIN NAH Lore ah WET ny Cyn] oF Ved pt teee epee te tas Ere SOURED tte EAU SO Research Associate IN OG COnme Tem INIGKELS OMe eases tees 2 Petes ke ee Morphologist Renin etl @ sec icicesccee vavissioite Suse dls ee seiie, arate cesses In charge of Visitors’ Activities sa bel ample PO Wels eo ee en Friends of the Garden Secretary George H. Pring.............. Be GAOT ten et Sn ee Superintendent permet tees ceo 1) bE (i ee cesta ay a hed 1 I, Engineer WUD Vay Pa SVC ea eee ee ee ee rere er ee Research Associate Frank Steinberg......... Superintendent of the Arboretum, Gray Summit George B. Van Schaack......... Librarian and Curator of Grasses Trifon von Schrenk Associate Curator of the Museum Robert E. Woodson, Jr.... Curator of Herbarium SOME FACTS ABOUT SHAW’S GARDEN The Missouri Botanical Garden (the official name chosen by Mr. Shaw) carries on the garden established by Henry Shaw over a century ago at TowER Grove, his country home. It is a private institution and has no support from city or state. The old stone walls and cast-iron fences, the Linnaean House, the Museum, the Mausoleum, and the TowrEr Grove mansion all date from Mr. Shaw’s time. Since his death, as directed in his will, the Garden has been in the hands of a Board of Trustees who appoint the Director. The Garden is open every day in the year (except New Year’s and Christmas) from nine A. M. until seven P. M. spring to fall and until six in the winter time though the green- houses close at five. Tower Grove, itself, Mr. Shaw’s old country home, is open from one until four, admission twenty- five cents, with special guides. The Garden is nearly a mile long and has several entrances. The Main Entrance, the one most used by the general public, is at Tower Grove and Flora Place on the Sarah bus line (No. 42). The Park Southhampton buses (No. 80), direct from downtown, pass within three blocks of this entrance and stop directly across the street from the Administration Building at 2315 Tower Grove Avenue. The latter is the best entrance for students, visiting scientists, etc. It is open to such visitors after 8:30 A.M., but is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The Cleveland Ave. gate, 2121 Tower Grove, is nearly always open, and there is a service entrance on Alfred Avenue, one block south of Shaw Avenue. Since Mr. Shaw’s time an Arboretum has been developed at Gray Summit, Mo., adjacent to State Highways 50 and 66. It is open every day in the year and has auto roads as well as foot trails through the wild-flower reservation. There is a pinetum and an extensive display of daffodils and other narcissi which are at their best in April. igella rate Rigella calida oft x fieca m eercio-Yirtns exiftit mn femine-virtute babct oiuretica ex amaritudie diffolucndi cofumedi ex qualitatibs fuis-Jeem emplattri Factit ex Farina feminis migelle cum fucco abhintber circa vmbhicii ayplicatu pueris lubricos necat. Sngentu cotralcabiem fat dez coctio pulueris mgellem magna quantitate cu fulpburein Forts aceto ad aliquale fpifitudine addito oleo fat inte yngenti bonitad {cabiem MissourRI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Voriswe XTVIT No 6 NoOvEMRBER. 1959 CONTENTS Flower Prints of Five Centuries Of Drawings Faithfully Made, Etc. Printing Processes Catalogue Cover: NIGELLA. Woodcut from Latin Herbarius, 1484. The exhibition of flower prints has been arranged through the courtesy of the City Art Museum in recognition of the centennial year of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis 10, Missouri. Published February, March, April, June, September, and November by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $2.50 a year. Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Galesburg, Illinois, under Act of March 3, 1879. Missour1 Botanical Garden Bulletin Vol. XLVII NOY EMBER,..1252 No. 6 FLOWER PRINTS OF FIVE CENTURIES AN EXHIBITION OF FLOWER BOOKS FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE Missourt BOTANICAL GARDEN Few flower prints are found in art collections. In Whitman’s Print Collector's Handbook as revised by Salaman, not a single such print appears nor is one even mentioned. Leonardo’s drawing of a lily and Van Gogh’s paintings of sunflowers are art; drawings and paintings to be reproduced as prints, such as Robert’s fine delineations, Francis Bauer’s exquisite paintings, Redouté’s excitingly life-like lilies and roses, are usually not considered as art, nor are the prints made from them. But the techniques of the makers of flower prints are the same as those of Durer, Rembrandt, Hogarth and Daumier; it is their intent to illustrate with life-like reality, rather than to interpret, that tends to exclude their work as art. Still, much of it is very decorative and it has commanded the attention of a large, if special group of admirers. One seeks in vain for prehistoric drawings or paintings of flowers; plants were static and needed not, as did animals, to be figured to cast a magic spell upon them. Among the ancients plant representations were used as decorative devices and as well in murals and similar paintings portraying harvest and tax records. Shortly before the dawn of the Christian era paintings of plants began to appear in medical works. However, the great days of flower delineation date from the sixteenth century, when the flower print took its rise. This exhibition traces the development of the use of various devices such as the woodcut, the engraved copper plate, the lithographer’s stone, in producing flower prints. Since these are usually the work of craftsmen who transferred to the wood, copper or stone what they saw in the artist’s original painting, they reflect only at second- hand the development of flower painting itself. The earliest books containing pictures of plants and, incidentally, of their flowers are manuscripts concerned with their medicinal properties. Among the oldest of these still extant is the great herbal of Dioscorides as rendered in 512 A.D., several hundred years after his death. It contains nearly four hundred paintings of plants, some of which are probably copies of earlier ones by Crateuas (2nd century, B.C.); others are so well drawn as to suggest they were made directly from live plants. But for nearly a thousand years after these drawings were made it is doubtful that in any other manuscript were plants represented from life. These drawings of 512 A.D. and earlier were copied and recopied until they bore little resemblance to the originals. (93) 94 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN One of the herbals based on Dioscorides and containing such copies of earlier drawings is the Herbarium of Pseudo-Apuleius, a ninth century manuscript. A modern copy of this is shown in (1)*, which shows also a copy of the first printed version of this herbal. Done in 1481, this latter was the earliest illustrated printed book on botany; but its illustrations were not from life. Drawing from live plants was first again used in the Gart der Gesundheit of 1485; in (5) we see a 1487 edition of this work in which most of the drawings were again only copies, as are those in the Ortus sanitatis (6) of 1511. It was Brunfels in 1530 who produced the first printed botanical book (7) with all its illustrations made directly from live plants. These were woodcuts made from water-color drawings of Hans Weiditz, a noted illustrator, who was a contemporary of Diirer. Modern copies of these very realistic paintings are seen in (8). Although books containing copies of earlier drawings continued to appear for many years after 1530 (in fact, have never entirely ceased to appear) the spell was broken by Brunfels; flower illustration after 1530 sought to base its laurels on representations of the living plant. The sixteenth century witnessed the rise and decline of the botanical woodcut in the works of Brunfels (7), Fuchs (9), Mattioli (10), Bock, Dodoens (11, 12), etc. By 1600 the interest in fine detail of plant parts and the availability of etching and engraving techniques prompted the use of copper to replace wood. The development was rapid and the seventeenth century saw the production of many fine books of flower engravings, the work of such artists as Reneaulme (17), de Bry (18) and Robert (21). In general all of this was in black and white, color printing not having been invented and hand coloring not yet the vogue. But with the opening of the eighteenth century a demand for colored prints arose. At first only hand coloring was available and most of the colored prints produced before 1850 were so colored. Some of the best of this is the work of Ehret (29), Jacquin (30), Schwegmen (32) and Bauer (36). Notable exceptions to hand coloring in this period are the single-plate color prints of Kirkall (28) around 1730, and the many examples of Redouté’s stipple engrav- ing d la poupée (33) in the period 1800-1840. With the nineteenth century came the lithograph. Colored lithographs were at first hand-colored (37, 38, 40, 41, 42); later they were color-printed with multiple plates (43). But throughout the century hand-colored engraving con- tinued to appear; in (39) we see a choice example. The colored lithograph degenerated as the century wore on and most of the late-century work badly reproduces the originals after which it was made. The present century has seen the development of new methods of color printing based on photography. Some of the best plates produced by these * The numbers refer to the works listed in the catalogue. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 95 methods are shown in (50) and (54). But the hand-colored lithographs of Lillian Snelling (53), made as late as 1940, admit little comparison. In preparing the exhibition I have had substantial assistance from Erna Eisendrath in the selection of material, in planning its organization and in com- posing the catalogue; Virginia McMahon has contributed many helpful suggestions in the choice of plates and in the improvement of text. To both of these grateful acknowledgment is made. Of the five books listed in the short bibliography below, that by Wilfrid Blunt was a constant guide to the important, the interesting and the excellent among the hundreds of titles which he had studied. Agnes Arber’s Herbals, a rich store of knowledge about all of early botany, traces in detail and with many illustrations the history of the botanical woodcut. Claus Nissen’s authoritative volume, in addition to being a detailed and complete history of botanical illus- tration, contains a bibliography of no less than 2387 titles which contain plant illustrations of merit; very possibly these contain more than a quarter million distinct plates. The remaining two books contain extensive analytical biblio- graphies of the most important eighteenth and ninteenth century flower books, many excellent reproductions of plates from these, and interesting accounts of the artists and their techniques. — George B. Van Schaack BIBLIOGRAPHY Arber, Agnes. Herbals; Their Origin and Evolution. A new edition. Cambridge, 1938. Blunt, Wilfrid. The Art of Botanical Illustration. London, 1950. Dunthorne, Gordon. Flower and Fruit Prints of the 18th and Early 19th Cen- turies. London, 1938. Nissen, Claus. Die botanische Buchillustration, Stuttgart, 1951. Sitwell, Sacheverell and Wilfrid Blunt. Great Flower Books, 1700-1900. London, 2 5Oe 96 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN OF DRAWINGS FAITHFULLY MADE, Etc. Illustrations of plants “have been made at different times by diverse types of artists and for diverse purposes: by bold explorers in the cause of science, and by timid spinsters to the glory of God; to record the . . . wildflowers of the . homeland, and to make known the gaudy exotics of distant countries; to train the eye of the botanist; to bring knowledge within the reach of the student, or a moment of fleeting pleasure to princes.” (Wilfrid Blunt, The Art of Botanical Illustration, Collins, London, 1951, p. 262.) Which of these shall find shelf space in a great botanical library? In a speech delivered at the first annual banquet of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Dr. William Trelease, the director, said, “A great many of the characters of plants cannot be preserved (in a herbarium); and yet a drawing faithfully made at the time when the character is well shown,—for instance, in a transient flower,—may last forever.” (1st Annual Report, 1890, p. 130.) “Drawings faithfully made” shall of course be on our shelves. Botanists call such drawings “icones,” a word first used by Otto Brunfels in 1530, in the title of the very book here exhibited. The word has come to have a rather special € meaning to botanists who, like most learned groups today, tend to use a private language not easily translated for outsiders. Icones may appear in regional floras, in de luxe tomes concerned only with the plants growing in a single garden, in learned treatises on classification, or in nurserymen’s catalogues. The covering qualification which allows pictures made for such varied purposes to huddle beneath the inclusive term is that the plant portrayal be of prime importance, and not used merely as elaboration of a printed text. Corollary to this is a meaning implicit in Brunfels’ Herbarum vivae ecicones. His were living portraits of plants, and quite different from the constantly re-used and therefore increasingly less accurate figures printed by his predecessors. It is almost pedantic to add that accuracy is not lessened by the additional quality of aesthetic satisfaction. Among our icones the two are found in variable proportions, the balance being struck not only on the basis of the purpose for which they were made, but also depending upon the date of publication. The demands of fashion in taste and interest can be followed almost as clearly through this exhibition as the line of development marking mechanical advances in the printing processes! The earliest illustrations of plants are generally neither very accurate nor very beautiful. They appear in the herbals, early botanical books written in the days when men were most interested in the medical uses they could make of the veg- etable world. This was not done on what today would be an acceptable scientific basis, and the descriptions, as well as the illustrations, seem quite naive to our sophisticated ears and eyes. This being true, we must turn again to Dr. Trelease to learn why herbals are important dwellers on the shelves of a botanical library. “No study of the cultivated plants of the present time,” he wrote in the 1896 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN o7 foreword to a catalogue of the Garden’s collection of early books, “can be at all complete unless the minute and painstaking records of the herbalists are consulted, for, with so mutable a class of plants as our flowers, vegetables, farm crops and fruits, the tracing of their history under cultivation is no small part of their study. What is asserted of cultivated plants... is also true, though to a less degree, of the native plants of temperate regions.” The herbals and volumes containing icones included in this exhibition have been chosen to illustrate, through figures of plants, the development of the printer’s art. The great library of the Missouri Botanical Garden contains material for ex- hibitions equally large, equally interesting and equally beautiful, organized on any number of other premises. It today contains some 150,000 bound volumes and pamphlets, constantly increased by the purchase of newly published books and the addition of older ones previously lacking in the collection. The library receives and keeps complete files of some 700 publications, these being perhaps the source material most usually used by researchers and students. The library’s size certainly fulfills the prophecy of Sir William J. Hooker, then director of Kew Gardens, who wrote to Mr. Shaw in 1857 not only that “Very few appendages to a garden of this kind are of more importance for instruction than a library,” but also that Mr. Shaw’s prospective library would “become like a rolling snowball.” (1st Annual Report, 1890, p. 13.) The library became a reality in 1859 when Mr. Shaw sent his good friend, Dr. George Engelmann, abroad with a commission to assemble the books he thought essential “appendages to a garden.” To these were added, in 1882, a fine col- lection of taxonomic works willed to the library by Dr. Engelmann, himself one of the great botanists of his day. In 1892 the snowball took what was probably its most crescent roll, as in that year Dr. Edward Lewis Sturtevant presented to the Missouri Botanical Garden his fine collection of some 500 pre-Linnean works. Most of the herbals in the present exhibition come from his collection, and in a number of the volumes Dr. Sturtevant’s plant identifications can be read in his pencilled hand. Dr. Sturtevant graduated from the Harvard Medical School in 1866, but spent most of his life in agricultural research, at first on his own farm in Massachusetts, later as first director of the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station. In the year in which he presented his library to the Garden he developed the early stages of tuberculosis. On November Sth he wrote Dr. Trelease of his plans to seek recovery in southern California, and of his hopes for the future of his great gift. “I have a strong desire,” he penned, “that the library shall serve a purpose. The time will come, I well know it is not immediate, when attention will be given to the problem of the changes that mankind have effected in plants, and the de- fining of the limits of variation due to various factors of human interference.” Dr. Sturtevant and Dr. Trelease foresaw the same botanical value for his books, and their statements have been amply justified. But these beautiful books, both the early and the late, offer far more than the answers to restricted scholarly prob- 98 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN lems. They interest us whether or not we know a stamen from a pistil; in them we share with the artist who drew the original figures, with the woodcutter or engraver who made the plates, with the printer who fitted them carefully to his pages, with the owners who have treasured them down through the years, the love of natural beauty which starts scholars on the road to botany, and which ult- imately brings these books into a museum of art. —Erna Eisendrath PRINTING PROCESSES A woodcut is printed with a block of wood prepared by cutting away one surface to leave just those parts which are to be printed. Ink is applied to the remaining parts of the surface and the paper then pressed against it. Etchings and engravings are printed with a metal plate into the surface of which the design has been cut or eaten. The printing ink is held in the depressions thus formed and is sucked out of them when the paper is pressed onto the plate. An etched plate is prepared by scratching the figure through a wax coating to the surface of the plate. Acid then eats into the exposed metal. Engraved plates are prepared in various ways: by cutting lines with a burin for line engraving, by incising dots for stipple engraving, by pushing tiny barbed wheels over the surface for roulette engraving. A mezzotint plate is prepared by first roughening the whole surface with a rocker and then scraping smooth those places not to be printed. An aquatint plate is prepared by coating the plate with a thin mottled deposit of rosin; those parts of the plate not to be printed are then ‘stopped out’ with varnish and the figure to be printed is scratched through the rosin to the metal. Upon immersing the plate in acid the figure is eaten into the plate; at the same time the acid eats the plate through the tiny holes in the rosin coating, thus making a toned effect. In many engravings two or more of the above methods may be combined, together with some use of etching. A lithograph is printed with a block of limestone prepared by drawing with greasy crayon upon one of its plane surfaces the figure to be printed. After this surface is dampened and blotted, the oily ink used for printing adheres only where the crayon marked the stone. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 99 CATALOGUE 1. APULEIUS BARBARUS. THE HERBAL or PsEUDO-APULEIUS FROM THE NINTH CENTURY MANUSCRIPT IN THE ABBEY OF MONTE CassINo [Codex Casi- nensis 97] together with the first printed edition of Joh. Phil. de Lignamine [ Editio princeps Romae 1481] both in facsimile, described and annotated by F. W. T. Hunger. Leyden, Brill, 1935. The manuscript (left-hand page) exhibits well the degeneration of plant repre- sentation characteristic of the copying which was the rule during the Dark Ages. In the editio princeps (right-hand page) the figures are even further debased. It is clear that the editio princeps is very closely related to the manuscript, but there are enough differences to make us wonder whether it was not made from another, but very similar, manuscript which has perished. In particular the figures in the manuscript are numbered in Roman numerals, those of the editio princeps are unnumbered. The editio princeps is the oldest illustrated printed book on plants. 2. THE BADIANUS MANUSCRIPT (Codex Barberini, Latin 241) Vatican Library. An Aztec herbal of 1552. Introduction, translation and annotations by Emily Walcott Emmart. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins, 1940. Rediscovered in 1931 in the Vatican Library, this manuscript is presented in a fine facsimile edition. The original, done by two native Aztecs, is considered to be uninfluenced by European examples, although it suggests comparison with the Herbal of Pseudo-Apuleius and the Ortus sanitatis. Its figures of plants are, however, much more life-like, exhibiting the simplicity of the primitive rather than the degeneration so frequently found in mere copying. These are the earliest known American illustrations of plants, except for stylized representations in Mayan and Aztec inscriptions. 3. LEONARDO DA VINCI. Mavonna tity. Copy of a study, ca. 1479. Although the herbals of the period show astonishing disinterest in accurate representation of plants, this sole surviving example of Leonardo’s many youthful flower drawings demonstrates that when drawn from life flowers could be as accurately represented in the 15th century as in any other period. 100 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Dishuss lesio, esis peasbus coriterc has herbas Halke aupah! ts, coyoxriusll, S23 hauls yal fe pee wian, actilh, xsabcapshths, quay ¥ saithHy» quaGalrcrcuhcapahty kekotlsn ,flore atta xo ‘ io | a et Prades hes spoil ly hun pabtle Tapicks Kah calh sal 1 reztell of teflahunll a Nicks co” forss ferrant, Shi hec $ sul triers ares cg io label, fo pone poop pape nel tre" uth arle eal 979 agqucn: ignore wale: Sfructo poms wi label” sani r971 AS - 16 rebel ULES 14, He Ibiffe fur.qeit pedibus peripe mattis ith Mcko Wo cecsaat tes piiio proliant See > equen ie noj'rat \yz queria Koc ocoigesh HERITIER DE BRUTELLE, Charles Louis. Stipes NOvAE, AUT MINUS COGNITAE. Paris, 1784-85. It is Redouté’s work reproduced a la poupée (cf. 33) in Les Roses, Les Liliacées, etc., in the early 19th century upon which his popularity seems to be based. But he produced many works which appeared then and earlier in uncolored engravings, both line and stipple. Of his colored line engravings the work shown here was done before he had gone to England to study stipple engraving. The engraved lines were printed in various colored inks,—green for the leaves, brown for the stems, etc., all of the colors being printed at the same time. Within the outlines thus produced the print was then colored by hand. Comparison of the result with that produced by the later method seen in No. 33 suggests that the latter was a logical development of the former. Redouté was striving for continuous toning, possible in his later stipple engravings, but only suggested here where the darker lines tend to destroy the continuity. He succeeded in his quest, but did his success not eliminate a certain artistic quality which these earlier prints have? 35. THORNTON, Robert John. NEW ILLUSTRATION OF THE SEXUAL SYSTEM OF Carotus LINNaAEus. London, 1799-1807. LiMopoRUM TANKERVILLIAE. Hand-colored engraving by H. Schwegman; from G. V. Schneevoogt, Icones plantarum rariorum. 112 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN One of the heaviest volumes in all of botany and one of the least important. Its Part Three: The Temple of Flora, however, has enjoyed a popularity second to none because of its elaborately produced and often decorative plates. The equally elaborate text, not often very informative, is replete with the romantic poetry about flowers which was so popular around 1800. The plates were engraved by various processes, partly printed in color, partly finished by hand, frequently changed from time to time as the publication pro- ceeded. No two copies of the work contain the same selection of plates. Appar- ently as orders came in for a copy or two the author had bound up whatever happened to be on hand. As it was, the venture ruined him financially for life; with such expensive plates he couldn’t always have available a complete set. The plate shows the night-blooming cereus of Jamaica, content in an English churchyard! As if foreshadowing the multiplicity of credits attributed in a modern film production, the flower was the work of Reinagle, while the moonlight was supplied by Pether. 36. LAMBERT, Aylmer Bourke. A pDescRIPTION OF THE GENUS PINUS. London, 1803. Most of the illustrations in this work were drawn by Ferdinand Bauer who was most fortunate in his engravers. These plates were the particular joy of the German poet, Goethe, who praised them many times and who said that in them “Nature is visible, Art concealed.” This copy is one of the few to be colored, probably by William Hooker, a pupil of Francis Bauer, brother of Ferdinand. The plate shows a larch, not now considered to belong to the same genus as the pines. 37. [KER, C. H. B.] IcoNes PICTAE INDO-ASIATICAE PLANTARUM EX- CERPTAE E Copicinus Dom: CattTLey. London, 1818. This slender volume contains some very charmingly hand-colored lithographs and etchings. It is apparently quite rare, being a sort of incomplete pre-issue of a fuller work appearing in 1820. The library at Kew is said to have a more complete copy with the same title page and an advertisement signed by W. Cattley (after whom the orchid Caffleya is named), stating that of the thirty figures “twenty-four were printed on stone and were drawn by Mr. H. B. Ker.” 38. WALLICH, Nathaniel. PLANTAE asIATICAE RARIORES. London, 1830-32. By no means all of the flower paintings and drawings reproduced in Europe were made by European artists. For Wallich’s large three volume work dealing with rare Asian plants the original drawings were made by a corps of native artists MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN é i ~e ie 4 a - - 7 Ciome A valied VS cgh tv, ery fronted apralancarri. tat ef ! MorNING-GLory. Hand-colored lithograph by Gauci, after a painting by from N. Wallich, Plantarum asiaticae rariores. BF Geerce: M2, Vishnupersaud; 114 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN in India, of whom Vishnupersaud was foremost. Gauci’s fine lithographs of these drawings were colored by hand. 39. BURY, Mrs. Edward. A SELECTION oF HEXANDRIAN PLANTs. London, 1831-34. Mrs. Bury, a self-styled amateur, was most fortunate in her engraver, R. Havell, whose fame rests on his work in producing the Audubon bird prints. The plates in this volume are aquatints, partly printed in color, but finished by hand, the hand of R. Havell himself. They are certainly among the most decorative of all flower prints. 40. HOOKER, Joseph Dalton. THE RHODODENDRONS OF SIKKIM-HIMALAYA. London, 1849. The fine hand-colored lithographs in this work are by the distinguished Walter Hood Fitch, who produced a steady stream of botanical drawings for fifty years. These particular ones are from Hooker’s own sketches made on a botanical trip to India. 41. BATEMAN, James. THE OrcHipackEAE OF MEXICO AND GUATEMALA. London, 1837-43. This is the largest and heaviest botanical work ever produced. Its handsome hand-colored lithographs were made from paintings by Mrs. Withers, Miss Drake and others, by Gauci, who had done those of Wallich (38). 42. MARTIUS, Karl Friedrich Philipp von. Historia NATURALIS PALMARUM. Munich, Leipzig, 1823-50. A monumental three-volume work on palms with 240 hand-colored lithographs. 43. ALLEN, John Fisk. Victoria REGIA, OR THE GREAT WATER LILY OF America. Boston, Dutton and Wentworth. 1854. (Single plate only). Sumptuously done colored flower prints appeared rarely in this country. The one shown is a chromo-lithograph, very decorative, if a little stiff. According to the title page the illustrations for this work were “by William Sharp, from specimens grown at Salem, Massachusetts, U.S.A.” Three years earlier in England Sir Wm. Jackson Hooker brought out another sumptuous folio volume with illustrations of Victoria regia by W. H. Fitch. Comparison of the two works makes one wonder if identical groupings of plants grew in England and in Salem. Copying plant illust- rations will never die! Pinus Evziorru. Lithograph by P. Roetter; from G. Engelmann, Revision of the genus Pinus, and a description of Pinus Elliottii. PINUS ELLIQTTH, Engelm F Poetter from nat on stone Print. by A Meise! 116 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Victoria Regia, native of the marshes of the upper Amazon, may be seen any summer blossoming in the lily pools at the Missouri Botanical Garden. 44. ENGELMANN, George. REVISION OF THE GENUS PINUS, AND A DES- CRIPTION OF Pinus ELLIotTH. St. Louis, 1880. This publication has special interest as being purely a product of St. Louis. Dr. George Engelmann, a German physician, settled here before 1840 and for over forty years thereafter was not only the pre-eminent scientist of the region, but one of the three outstanding botanists of the whole country. It was he who counselled Henry Shaw to make of the Missouri Botanical Garden a scientific institution rather than merely a show place. He was one of the founders of the St. Louis Academy of Science, in the Transactions of which the work exhibited first appeared. The draw- ings were made directly on stone by a local artist, P. Roetter, whose work is cer- tainly of excellent quality. For another very extensive publication of Engelmann, The Cactaceae of the Boundary, Roetter drew a series of 76 excellent figures which Engelmann took to Paris to be engraved under the direction of the same Picart who did many of the plates for Sargent’s great Silva of North America (45). 45. SARGENT, Charles Sprague. THe Strva of NortH America. A des- cription of the trees which grow naturally in North America exclusive of Mexico. Boston and New York, 1891-1902. This fourteen-volume work contains 740 uncolored plates drawn by C. E. Faxon who, in Sargent’s words, “united accuracy with graceful composition and softness of outline’. Faxon was an American, but his drawings were engraved in Paris. These plates show well how roulette engraving gives a crispness to the plate, but at the same time leaves the outline and shading soft rather than hard. 46. CURTIS, William. THe Botanica MaGazine. London, 1787— This great serial has been published continuously for over one hundred seventy years. Initially a private enterprise of William Curtis, it is now a publication of the Royal Horticultural Society. In all it contains nearly ten thousand colored drawings of plants, most of them introduced into cultivation in England. Quite remarkable is the fact that until 1948 all of the plates were colored by hand. The seven plates show the various ways in which different artists have treated the peony; they range in date from 1812 to 1952. 47. LINNAEUS, Carolus. Hortus CiirrortTiaNus. Amsterdam, 1737. Of all Linnaeus’ works this is the only one elaborately produced, having been supported by a rich banker, George Clifford of Harlem, whose botanical garden is MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 117 the subject of the book. It was illustrated by the then young George Ehret and J. Wandelaar. The latter not only contributed this fascinating frontispiece, but supplied a poem to explain it. According to this, Mother Earth, with the support of Clifford’s enterprise and the pen of Linnaeus, here receives and propagates the plants of distant lands, and now through all seasons may Europe enjoy the noblest plants, fruits and flowers of Asia, Africa and America. 48. SIBTHORP, John S. Frora Gratca. London, 1806-40. (1845-56 reprint). Each of the ten volumes of this monumental work on the plants of the east- ern Mediterranean has a frontispiece with a different scene from that region. Each of these is further decorated with flowers from the groups of plants treated in the volume. Volume 8 (exhibited) is devoted to plants of the pea family. 49. BLUME, Carl Ludwig. CoLLEcTION DES ORCHIDEES LES PLUS REMAR- QUABLES DE L’ARCHIPEL INDIEN ET DU JAPON. Amsterdam, 1858. The frontispiece, elaborately decorated with orchids, is a lithograph partly printed in color. 50. FLORA DE LA REAL EXPEDICION BOTANICA DEL NUEVO REINO DE GRANADA. Madrid, 1954- A fine example of modern color reproduction, published in the grand manner. The paintings, however, date from the late 18th century, having been made under the direction of Don José Celestino Mutis, who led an extended botanical expedition to what is now Colombia. The plate shown is a rather extreme example of the tendency of all Mutis’ artists to “arrange” the plants in what they considered pleasing designs. The exhibits at left and right (51 and 52) show other treatments of the same plant, a passion flower. 51. PLUMIER, Charles. DerscripTION DES PLANTES DE L’AMERIQUE. Paris, 1693. 52. JACQUIN, Nicolaus Joseph. Hortus BOTANICUS VINDOBONENSIS. Vienna, 1770-76. 53. GROVE, Arthur and A. D. COTTON. A suprLEMENT To ELWES’ MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS LiLIUM. London, 1934-40. These fine plates, which are lithographs by Lillian Snelling, have been most 118 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN skillfully colored. In excellence they are doubtfully surpassed as botanical color prints by anything done in the last hundred years. 54. DESCOLE, Horatius R., ed. GENERA ET SPECIES PLANTARUM ARGENT- INARUM. Buenos Aires, 1943- The day of the oversize volume in botanical publishing is not over; less than twenty years ago Argentina embarked upon the production of this sumptuous ‘flora’ in the grand manner, to be illustrated with elaborate drawings, many of them colored. Five volumes have appeared. The color-plate work varies in quality, —at its best it uses our modern machine methods to as good advantage as the older methods were being used a hundred years or more ago. 55. IINUMA, Yokusai. SomMoxku-pzusetsu. Rev. ed. Ogaki, 1874. These effective Japanese woodcuts show the convention of representing the upper surface of the leaf black, the under, white. Color is little used, except occa- sionally for the flower or a part of it. 56. KOCH, Rudolf. Das BLUMENBUCH. Zeichnungen von Rudolf Koch in Holz geschnitten von Fritz Kredel. Darmstadt, 1929-30. (Loaned by Mr. Emil de Leuw). A modern German florilegium with woodcuts reminiscent of those of four hun- dred years earlier. Privately printed for a German book society. 57. VELICK, Bernadette. INK DRAWING. 1959, This original ink drawing was made at the Missouri Botanical Garden by Bern- adette Velick of St. Louis. Beside it is the commercially produced engraving to be used as an illustration in an article on plants of Panama which will appear next spring in the Garden’s Annals. 58. NANNFELDT, John Axel, and G. Einar Du RIETZ. Vitpa vaxTER I NORDEN. Stockholm, 1952. As so much of the handwork in this exhibition manifests, it is “understanding” and its reflection which the artist brings to the making of a flower print. It is doubtful that any camera can equal this in effect, but just as doubtfully could any eye and hand depict so well the sheer complexity of plant life as we see it here in these fine color-photo reproductions. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 119 GENERAL INDEX Agavaceae, 71 Aizoaceae, 72 Alexander, Mrs. Campbell, 27 Allen, John Fisk, 114 Anderson, Dr. Edgar, 32, 34, 43. 44 Andrews, Dean Henry N., 32 Andrews, Mary Beth, 47, 91 Apuleius Barbarus, 99 Aquatint, 98 Arboretum, 39 Asclepiadaceae, 69 Attendance, 38 Aubriet, Claude, 104 Aztec Herbal, 99, 100 Badianus Manuscript, 99, 100 Barbre, Clarence, 34 Bateman, James, 114 Bauer, Ferdinand, 112 Besler, Basil, 104 Blume, Carl Ludwig, 117 Blunt, W., 106 Book Reviews: Mariano Ospina Hernandez’s “Colombian Orchids,” 47; Julian A. Steyer- mark’s ‘‘Vegetational History of the Ozark Forest,” 89 Bowman, Helen, 47 Brunfels, Otto, 101 Bry, Johann Theodor de, 103, 105 Bunting, George S., 77, 83 Bury, Mrs. Edward, 114 Cactaceae, 66 Camerarius, Joachim, 103 Cannas for St. Louis, Old-fashioned, 42 Catalogue, 99 Cattleyas and their allies, 3 Climatron. Report on construction, 81; Planting, 82 Clusius, Carolus, 103 Columna, Fabius, 103 Commelin, Jan, 104 Cotton, A. D., 117 Crassulaceae, 73 Crateuas, 93 Curtis, William, 116 Cutak, Ladislaus, 49 Cutler, Hugh C., 25 Cymbidiums, 13 Cypripediums, 12 Davies, Josephine, 26, 47, 91 Descole, Horatius R., 118 Desertariums and dish gardens, 57 Dillenius, Johann Jakob, 106 Dioscorides, 93 Dish gardens and desertariums, 57 Dodart, Denis, 104 Dodens, Rembert, 102, 103 Du Rietz, G. Einar, 118 Education programs, 34, 44; Summer nature classes, 45; Tours, 44; Saturday activities, 45; Pitzman nature program summer 1959, 46; Junior research teams, 91; Chart, 92 Ehret, George Dionysius, 106, 108, 117 Eisendrath, Erna, 98 Engelmann, Dr. George, 97, 115, 116 Engravings, 98 Etchings, 98 Euphorbiaceae, 68 Evinger, Edgar L., 35, 82 Exhibition and flower shows, 35; exhibition of flower books, 93 Faxon, C. E., 116 Fitch, W. H., 114 Flora de la real expedicién del Nuevo Reino ce Granada, 117 Flower Prints of Five Centuries, 93 Flower sermon, 36 Flower shows, 35 Fuchs, Leonhart, 102 Gart der Gesundheit, 101 Gauci, M., 114 Gillespie, Robert J., 1, 34; Review of Mariano Ospina Hernandez’s ‘Colombian Orchids,” 47 Greenhouses, 35 Grove, Arthur, 117 Hath, Earl H., 47 Hath, Mrs. Earl H., 27, 39, 47 Havell, R., 114 Herbarium, 30 Herbarius zu Teutsch, 101 L’Héritier de Brutelle, Charles Louis, 111 Hooker, Joseph Dalton, 114 Hooker, Sr. William J., 97, 114 Hooker, William, 112 linuma, Yokusai, 118 Information Center, 38 Ivy and Plumbago, 43 Jacquin, Nicolaus Joseph, 108, 117 Ker. Gods BAavl12 Kirkall, 108 Knapp, Mrs. Hazel L., 27 Koch, Rudolf, 118 Lambert, Aylmer Bourke, 112 Lambert, J. B., 23 Latin herbarius, cover No. 6, 101 Leonardo da Vinci, 99 Library, 33 Liliaceae, 70 Linnaeus, Carolus, 86, 116 Lithograph, 98 Little-known facts on a well-known plant, 77 120 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Maintenance, 37 Martius, Karl Friederich Philipp von, 114 Martyn, John K., 108 Mattioli, Pierandrea, 102 McCready, Frank, 39 Mezzotint, 98 Missouri Botanical Garden in 1958, 25 Nannfeldt, John Axel, 118 National Council of State Garden Clubs Head- quarters, 39 Nature prepares for winter, 87 Nickerson, Dr. Norton H., 26, 34 Niedringhaus, Carolyn Lee, 39 Nigella, cover November BULLETIN O'Byrne, Mrs. Stuart, 47 O’Bryne, Stuart, 47 Odontoglossums, 15 Of Drawings Faithfully Made, etc., 96 Orchid culture, 1; diseases, 19; culture chart, 23; department, 34 Ortus sanitatis, 101 Pallas, Petro Simone, 108, 109 Peck, Kenneth O., 44, 47, 91 Pether, Abraham, 112 Philodendron, cover September BULLETIN; 77, 80 Picart, Eugene, 116 Pitzman nature program summer 1959, 46; Junior research teams, 91; chart, 92 Plants in relation to climate, 48 Plant introductions, 35 Plumbago and Ivy, 43 Plumier, Charles, 106, 117 Printing Processes, 98 Redouté, Pierre Joseph, 111 Reinagle, Philipp, 112 Reneaulme, Paul, 103 Rheede tot Draakestein, Henricus van, 106 Robert, Nicolas, 104 Roetter, P., 116 Rouk, Hugh, 32 Rouk, Mrs. Hazel, 32 Rytz, Walther, 101 Sargent, Charles Sprague, 116 Saturday activities, 45 Schneevoogt, G. Voorhelm, 108 Schéffer, Peter, 101 Schénsperger, Johann, 101 Schwegman, H., 108; facing 111 Sharp, William, 114 Shaw, Henry, 28 Shaw House, 39 Sibthorp, John S., 117 Snelling, Lillian, 117 Society of Gardeners, 106, 107 Start, Clarissa, 41 Stern, Jeane, 47 Sturtevant, Dr. Edward Lewis, 97 Succulents, 49; culture and care, 51; in the garden, 53; hardy, 54; as house plants, 56; making desertariums and dish gardens, 57; propagation, 59; cactaceae, 66; Euphorbi- aceae, 68; Asclepiadaceae, 69; Liliaceae, 70; Agavaceae, 71; Aizoaceae, 72; Crassulaceaze, 73; miscellaneous, 75 Summer nature classes, 45 Sweerts, Emanuel, 104 Symposium, Systematics, 26 Thornton, Robert John, 111 Tours, 44 Trelease, Dr. William, 96, 97 Trew, Christopher Jacob, 108 Tucker, Mayor Raymond R., 25 Vandas, 18 Van der Ast, Balthazar, 103 Van Schaack, George B., 95 Veiled Prophet Queen, 39 Velick, Bernadette, 118 Vishnupersaud, 113, 114 Wallich, Nathaniel, 112, 113 Wandelaar, J., 117 Wedel, Rev. Theodore O., 36 Weiditz, Hans, 101 Went, F. W., 25, 48, 81, 87, Review of Julian A. Steyermark’s ‘“Vezetational History of the Ozark Forest,” 89 What's in a name? 83 Woodcut, 98 Woodson, Dr. Robert FE., 26 BOARD OF TRUSTEES RoBERT BRooKINGs SMITH, President Henry HitcHcock Leicester B. Faust, Vice-President Joun S. LEHMANN Henry B. PrFiacer, Second Vice-President Rospert W. OTTo DantEL K. CaTLIN WarrEN McKINNEY SHAPLEIGH Dubey FRENCH EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS ETHAN A. H. SHEPLEY, H. Lee Bruns Chancellor of Washington University President_of the Board of Education GrorceE L. CapDIGAN, of St, Sele Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri STRATFORD LEE Morton, RayMonp R. Tucker, President of the Academy of Science Mayor of the City of St. Louis of St. Louis Secretary Oscar E. GLAESSNER Waxpo G. Fecuner, Asst. Controller HORTICULTURAL COUNCIL Clifford W. Benson, Paul Bernard, Mrs. Paul H. Britt, E. G. Cherbonnier, Phil Conrath, Hugh C. Cutler, Carl Giebel, Robert E. Goetz, Paul Hale, Earl Hath, Mrs. W. Warren Kirkbride, Mrs. Hazel Knapp, Emmett J. Layton, Robert W. Otto, G. W. Pennewill, Mrs. T. Randolph Potter, Robert Brookings Smith, F. W. Went, D. O’Gorman, Vice-Chairman, Francis McMath, Chairman. Frits W. Went STAFF Director Hugh C. Cutler Executive Director Edgar Anderson Curator of Useful Plants Henry N. Andrews Paleobotanist Clarence Barbre Instructor Louis G. Brenner. George 5. Bunting Arborist and Grounds Superintendent ..Taxonomist Ladislaus Cutak Horticulturist and Greenhouse Superintendent Josephine L. Davies Assistant in Education Carroll W. Dodge Mycologist Robert L. Dressler...... John D. Dwyer ects Taxonomist and Editor of ANNALS Research Associate E. L. Evinger Horticulturist in charge of Experimental Greenhouse Robert J. Gillespie In charge of Orchids Oscar E. Gl Controller Paul A. Kohl Floriculturist Emmet J. Layton Landscape Architect Virginia McMahon Acting Editor of the BULLETIN Viktor Muehlenbachs Research Associate Norton H. Nickerson Morphologist Kenneth O. Peck Isabella T. Powell In charge of Visitors’ Activities Friends of the Garden Secretary George H. Pring Superintendent Kenneth A. Smith Engineer & Julian A. Steyermark Research Associate Superintendent of the Arboretum, Gray Summit Frank Steinberg Librarian and Curator of Grasses George B. Van Schaack Trifon von Schrenk Associate Curator of the Museum Robert E. Woodson, Jr Curator of Herbarium SOME FACTS ABOUT SHAW’S GARDEN The Missouri Botanical Garden (the official name chosen by Mr. Shaw) carries on the garden established by Henry Shaw over a century ago at Tower Grove, his country home. It is a private institution and has no support from city or state. The old stone walls and cast-iron fences, the Linnaean House, the Museum, the Mausoleum, and the Tower Grove mansion all date from Mr. Shaw’s time. Since his death, as directed in his will, the Garden has been in the hands of a Board of Trustees who appoint the Director. The Garden is open every day in the year (except New Year’s and Christmas) from nine A. M. until seven P. M. spring to fall and until six in the winter time though the green- houses close at five. Tower Grove, itself, Mr. Shaw’s old country home, is open from one until four, admission twenty- five cents, with special guides. The Garden is nearly a mile long and has several entrances. The Main Entrance, the one most used by the general public, is at Tower Grove and Flora Place on the Sarah bus line (No. 42). The Park Southhampton buses (No. 80), direct from downtown, pass within three blocks of this entrance and stop directly across the street from the Administration Building at 2315 Tower Grove Avenue. The latter is the best entrance for students, visiting scientists, etc. It is open to such visitors after 8:30 A.M., but is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The Cleveland Ave. gate, 2121 Tower Grove, is nearly always open, and there is a service entrance on Alfred Avenue, one block south of Shaw Avenue. Since Mr. Shaw’s time an Arboretum has been developed at Gray Summit, Mo., adjacent to State Highways 50 and 66. It is open every day in the year and has auto roads as well as foot trails through the wild-flower reservation. There is a pinetum and an extensive display of daffodils and other narcissi which are at their best in April. MussOURI JROTANICAL GARDEN JBULLETIN VOLUME XLVIII 1960 ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI PUBLISHED MONTHLY EXCEPT JULY AND AUGUST BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $3.50 A YEAR MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN K Le Number 1 THE CHARLES DARWIN YEAR Featuring an article by Dr. F. W. Went about insectivorous plants. Mr. Darwin also was very interested in these plants and contributed much to our early knowledge of carnivory in the plant world. Cover: Camellia japonica The first Curtis Camellia Plate. Single-flowered Camellia illustrated in the Botanical Magazine, Plate 42, March 1788. Camellias named for George Joseph Camellus, a Moravian Jesuit who traveled in Asia in the 17th Century, belong to the Tea Family of plants, Theaceae. The flowers either single or double are white, pink through to rich red. The doubles attain a symmetry of form near perfection. These plants are tender north of plant zone 6. The time of flowering is primarily in January and February. You can see a beautiful display of the more common varieties now in the Linnean House of the Missouri Botanical Garden. CONTENTS Plants of Prey Tower Grove The Darwin Controversy Archeological Cucurbits Caring for Christmas Plants Book Review Ivy Vine or Bush Missouri Botanical Garden Programs e Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Hlinois. Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis 10, Missouri. Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $2.50 a year. Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Galesburg, Illinois, under Act of March 3, 1879. Missour1 Botanical Garden Bulletin Vol. XLVHUI No. 1 January 1960 PLANIS-“OF PREY DIR... A, VGaeatia one investigates plants, and whatever observations are made, they always are interesting. Yet some plants are more spectacular, and others are more amazing when viewed from a human standpoint. Among the latter the carnivorous or insect- eating plants take first place, but let me state at the outset that there are no plants able to catch and digest any animal larger than a cockroach. Man- eating plants only exist in the realm of fiction. Charles Darwin was equally versed in botanical, zoological and geological problems. If he had not published his evolutionary theory, for which every man and child knows him, he would be held in equal esteem by the scien- tific world for his work on coral reefs, fertilization of flowers, movements of plants, the means of distribution of plants and animals and many other subjects. For example, he was the discoverer of carnivory in plants. His eye and mind were always on the alert, which was partly responsible for his phenomenal achievements. Thus he tells himself, “In the summer of 1860 I was idling and resting near Hart- field, where two species of Drosera abound, and I noticed that numerous insects had been entrapped by the leaves. I carried home some plants, and on giving them insects saw the Vv. WENT movements of the tentacles, and this made me think that the insects were caught for some special purpose.” He found that these movements were caused by nitrogenous compounds, and that digestive enzymes dissolved the insect. Darwin relates: “During sub- sequent years, whenever I had_ the leisure I pursued my experiments and my book on ‘Insectivorous Plants’ was published in July 1875. The fact that a plant should secrete, when properly excited, a fluid containing an acid and ferment closely analogous to the diges- tive fluid of an animal, was certainly a remarkable discovery.” During his work with the sundew, Drosera, Dar- win became so excited that he wrote the father of Botany in the United States, Asa Gray: “You are unjust on the merits of my beloved Drosera, it is a wonderful plant, or rather a most sagacious animal. I will stick up for Drosera to the day of my death.” There is no doubt that many car- nivorous plants digest their prey, and grow better when their diet of mineral salts is augmented with meat. But it also has been shown that they can live and grow without trapping insects. What does the meat do to them. To answer this, we must realize that all meat-eaters among plants grow in peat bogs or swamps, which, generally speaking, are places with a very poor (1) bho nitrogen and nutrient supply of the soil. It seems likely that these plants do not use their digested prey as a source of protein, but merely as a source of nitrogen and other nutrients. If this is true they would do the same things as the ant-plants, only in a more elaborate way. Many of the plants which furnish room (and some- times board) to ants profit from the refuse of the ants, through uptake of the nutrients it contains. The insect eating plants are less subtle, they trap or grab their prey, and decompose it to get at the nutrients. This in itself is an interesting fact, but more interest- ing is the way insects are caught. For a review of these methods we do best by turning to the delightful book, by the late Professor Francis E. Lloyd, entitled, “The Carnivorous Plants.’’ With fine humor, seldom encountered in scientific books, he places the insect- catching plants in six major groups: pit-falls, lobster pots, snares, fly-paper traps, steel traps and mousetraps. The simplest device is the pit-fall. In northern California a typical example cobra grows, Darlingtonia or the plant. In the South, e.g. in the Caro- linas and Georgia, another example of the type is found, Sarracenia. Each leaf is rolled into a tube-like pitcher, which is twisted at the top so that the entrance to the pitcher points down- ward. Around its mouth the margin is bent inwards and lined with retrorse stiff hair so that insects which entered the pitcher cannot crawl out again. They are attracted by a violet-like odor. There is no lid which closes with a catch, it is not a trap but a pit. Inside the pitcher some water MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN is always present, but after a prey is caught, there is a 3—10-fold increase in its contents. Darlingtonia does not excrete to digest the prey, for this it depends on bacteria. OLD M.B.G. PHOTO Sundew Drosera brevifolia MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN Sometimes these plants overeat. Their pitchers get filled with dead in- sects, which start to rot and kill the leaves. I have seen one or more cock- roaches trapped in pitchers in the greenhouse, but they gave too rich a brew, and the pitchers disintegrated, together with their catch. In some Botanical Gardens the pitcher plants have to be protected with screens, since they seem too attractive for insects. And no wonder, for Nepenthes, an Asian genus of pitcher plants, produces nectar in its traps. “Without telling more about the wonders of the pitcher plants, and skipping the lobster pots and snares, the fly-paper traps need our attention. The best known plant in this group is the sundew, Drosera. It grows in peat bogs all over the world, and is ww very common in the north and east of our country. The small plants consist of a rosette of leaves with a graceful flowerstalk carrying several white Each leaf. is covered with glands sitting on long flowers between them. stalks, resembling tentacles. These glands secrete a sticky slime so that any small insect which comes in con- tact with the slime, sticks to it. Then the tentacles surrounding those hold- ing the insect fold inward over the prey, which thus is pressed against the leaf, and digested by an enzyme. Not only insects, but also small bits of egg white or meat are accepted and digest- ed. This is a fascinating thing to observe, and it can easily be seen in plants brought home from a peat bog. The Venus fly trap, Dionaca, occurs in the Carolinas and is an example of hem PHOTO BY EF. L.B Venus Fly-trap Dionea muscipula 4 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN the steel trap. In size and general build the plant resembles a sundew, but the roundish leaves are hinged and can fold upwards along the middle. On the inside of each valve three hairs stand. When these are touched twice the trap closes suddenly. Since the margins of the leaf have teeth, which mesh when closed, any insect unfor- tunate enough to touch the sensitive hairs while walking on the leaf will be enclosed by the two valves, and escape is impossible because the teeth form the bars of a cage. On the inside of the valves glands excrete a digestive fluid, and in a few days only the in- digestible skin of the insect is left. Then the leaf may open again, to trap another insect. On warm days the closing movement of the trap is so fast that a comparison with a steel trap is very apt. It takes less than a second to close when the temperature is high, but on cool mornings the trap may not close at all after stimulation. A particularly interesting detail is that only upon a double stimulation of the sensitive hairs the trap closes. One single hair must be touched twice in a few seconds interval, or two differ- ent hairs can be touched once each, also with a short interval. Therefore a little pebble or inanimate object cannot cause closure, but an insect walking between the hairs is most likely to make two touchdowns, and become trapped. Another plant having similar, but simpler traps is a water plant, A/dro- vanda, This forms a long stem with whorls of leaves, each surmounted by a tiny trap. The mouse trap mechanism of trap- ping is represented by the bladder- wort. Utricularia. Almost 300 species are known, most of them living in water. Their yellow flowers are deli- cate, or sometimes showy, but of greatest interest are their traps. They are quite small, usually not more than a few millimeters. Professor Lloyd has studied them in detail and most of what we know about their astounding mechanism is due to his researches. The trap cons'sts of an almost round REPRINT OTTO LUGGER Bladderwort Utricularia sp. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 5 sac, with one small opening, closed by a door or valve. This is not a passive check valve, which has to be pushed open by the prey and falls shut behind it, but a door which closes tightly against a sill, preventing it from open- ing. Water is pumped out of the bladder, and, since the door is hermet- ically closed, the sides of the bladder are pulled inward and a tension is de- veloped inside. On the outside of the door are a few sensitive hairs. When they are touched the door gives and water is sucked into the bladder with great rapidity. Any small animal (usually a Daphnia or similar crusta- cean) is caught in this rush of water, and within one-tenth of a second the trespasser is inside the bladder. The door closes again, enzymes are excreted, and the prey is digested. The carnivorous plants belong to seven different families, It is remark- able how, in the course of evolution, meat-eating habits are developed in those seven separate families. Not only mechanism for digestion and absorp- tion of the nutrients from the prey had to be evolved, but equally, in each family individually important mech- anism to lure and catch the prey had to develop. One without the other would have been useless so that we have to conceive that the digestive, luring and catching mechanism all developed simultaneously. Pitcher Plant Nepenthes dom- inii. Traps developed on tips of leaves and contain nectar. Photo by G.H.P. M.B.G. BULLETIN Vol. 38:2. p. 29. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 7 THE DARWIN CONTROVERSY Momentous Book on Evolution Has Its Centennial SAM LAMBERT NE hundred years ago, on Novem- ber 24, 1859, a momentous book appeared in England. It sold out its first edition of 1250 copies in one day and started a thunderous contro- versy that is still felt in some degree. The book, bearing the lengthy title “On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,” Charles Darwin. His thesis—that plant was written by and animal life emerged from lower forms of life rather than having been created directly—challenged literal in- terpretation of the Book of Genesis and shattered the complacency of the Victorian world. Also, it opened to general critical study the origin of man and his relation to nature. Darwin’s epochal book had its be- ginning some 25 years earlier when, as a young naturalist, he made a five-year scientific voyage aboard the Royal Navy brig Beagle to South America and the islands of the Pacific. From his observations of plant and animal life in the many places he visited, Darwin was struck by the possibility many species had evolved from a com- mon source. He explained this evolu- tion by natural selection—that infinite variations among plants and animals sometimes result in characteristics that are transmittable through heredity and that are an advantage in the constant struggle for existence. The fittest survive, he concluded, and the result is a continuing development of a higher form of life. The implication that man also evolved from a lower form was spelled out in 1871 in “The Descent of Man.’ > After returning to England from his voyages aboard the Beagle, Darwin married his cousin, Emma Wedgwood, in 1839. They moved to a big coun- try home, Down House, in Kent and raised a large family. There he con- tinued his scientific studies, became acquainted with the views of the Eng- lish economist Malthus, the philosopher Herbert Spencer, the geologist Lyell, and the French naturalist Lamarck. Darwin kept his theories on evolu- tion largely to himself until 1858, when he saw them mirrored in a manuscript by Alfred Wallace, a young British naturalist. This led to the joint presentation, at a science meeting, of their work. However, the documentation and style of the “Ori- gin of Species,” published the next year, was responsible for the theory of evolution being linked with Darwin’s name. Unfortunately, many of Darwin’s generalizations were overemphasized and the term “Darwinism” came to be used to justify, among other things, cut-throat competition and a callous social outlook. Darwin himself was open-minded and humble about his views. Personally, he was not anti- religious, once remarked that the uni- verse was too complex to have arisen > “through chance.’ Reprinted from S#. Louis Post Dispatch, Sun., Nov. 22, 1959 8 MISSOURI BOTANICAIT CARING FOR ¢ A WALK through a_ greenhouse where plants are being readied for Christmas is a delightful experi- ence. The plants look so fresh in the bright sunlight and you are con- scious of the warm, moist air all about. Now step into the modern home where these plants are used for holiday decorations or arrive as gift plants. If plants could talk, can’t you just hear them complaining of their discomfort in the hot, dry, stuffy While they are silent none-the-less their actions atmosphere of the home? are louder than words. The one plant that reacts almost immediately to the sudden change in environment is the popular Christmas Poinsettia. Know- ing this, every effort should be made to treat it well. Try and select a cooler location in the room free from drafts, but where there is plenty of Never let the plant dry out When a Poinsettias 1s daylight. and yet do not overwater it. pot of brilliant red brought to the home the plants are in prime condition. They flourished under the best growing conditions in the greenhouse and have developed their bracts since mid-November. In December they were fully grown and had they been left in the greenhouse would have remained in prime condi- tion for six to eight weeks or longer In the dry atmosphere of the home Poinsettias will be good for about a week and after that will begin losing the lower leaves and some of the bracts. Unfortunately, that ends their attractiveness as a house plant. It is possible to grow them again the fol- GARDEN BULLETIN -HRISTMAS PLANTS lowing year, but it takes time and care and that is another story. Some other colorful red and green fruited plants are the Jerusalem cher- ries, and peppers. The cherries and peppers are not so quickly affected by temperature changes and remain in good condition for a longer time. They are annuals and are grown from seed each year. After the fruits have shriveled or dropped the plants may as well be discarded. The seed can be saved and used to produce new plants. Kalanchoes in shades of rich red and orange bloom for a long time and, being succulents, they easily adapt themselves to the dry environment of the home. They are good, colorful, long lasting Christmas plants. Cyclamen can be kept beautiful by growing them where it is cool and by giving them plenty of moisture. This will also keep them blooming for a long time. They have interesting PHOTO BY P.A.K. Cyclamen MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 9 leaves and even after they have stopped blooming are still very attractive plants. Azaleas also like to be cool and moist. If these conditions are met they will bloom for several weeks. On a sun porch they can stand tem- peratures between 35 and 40 degrees and if such a location is available that is the best place to keep the plants until they can be taken outdoors in a semi-shaded spot during the spring and summer months. While outdoors feed them at monthly intervals, alternating ammonium sulphate with a soluble fertilizer. The plants must be brought indoors before the first frost and will bloom again in February and March. African violets, Begonias, Gloxinias, Chrysanthemums and foliage plants like Philodendrons, ivies, Ficus, Bro- melias and hollies are just a few of the many plants available for Christmas. Regardless of the kind of plant, the essentials for good growth are mois- ture, light, proper temperature and a regular feeding time. How often a plant should be wa- tered is a puzzling question frequently asked and one for which no satisfac- tory answer can be given. So much depends upon the kind of plant, the type of container, the humidity or air and the soil in which it is planted. Cacti and succulents need less water and can endure longer intervals with- out water than plants like ferns and Azaleas. If there is little space for water because the plant has _ been potted high, one watering will not suffice and will moisten only the sur- face soil. Such a plant had better be set in a pan of water and left there until the entire root ball has been moistened. Plants will dry out faster on cold days because more heat is cir- culated in the home. On mild, damp days there is little need for heat and there is a corresponding decrease in the water requirements of the plants. Every effort should be made to in- crease the humidity near the plants by placing them in saucers of damp sand, gravel or peat. Plants on a window- sill usually do not dry out as fast as those in the room. Plants need good light, but they vary in their light requirements, flow- ering plants needing more than foliage plants. Some plants, like African violets, can be grown without daylight and thrive just as well under fluores- cent lamps. High temperatures and low humid- ity will ruin most plants. If it is impossible to avoid such conditions some kinds of plants may be grown in plastic or glass enclosures, referred to as wardian cases, where humidity can be controlled. PauLt A. Konut PHOTO BY P.A.K. Gloxinia 10 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN IVY VINE OR BUSH LANTS that we think of normally r.. being vines attain a new interest when we find we can grow them as shrubs. There are a number of vines which produce a low arborescent or bushy type of growth and as such can be used for accent or specimen plants, tub or pot plants or even hedge rows. Certain vines will become bushy or tree-like by special training; some grow this way after removal or loss of their accustomed support; more often the condition occurs when a plant reaches a state of maturity and takes a bushy form in order to place its flowers and fruits more advantageously for pollination and seed dissemination. Examples of these phenomena of plant behavior are (1) Wisteria (Wisteria floribunda), (2) poison ivy (Rhus toxicodendron) the bush form of which is known as “poison oak,” and (3) the evergreen groundcover vine English ivy (Hedera helix). The English ivy, and the various strains, named for locations where this plant has adapted itself to climatic conditions such as Bulgarian, Rou- manian and Scandanavian, is an inter- esting evergreen when used as a shrub, either separately or in conjunc- tion with the vine form as a ground cover. The shrub form, or sexually mature state of the English ivy, comes about at a dramatic point when age, conditions of growth or some un- known stimuli cause this plant to change its style of growth. Instead of a creeping vine it now becomes bushy with sturdy branches and uniformly simple heart-shaped leaves of leathery texture. This form usually occurs after the plant has climbed a tree, a fence or a wall. Propagations made from this adult growth are much more difficult to root than those made from the juvenile or vine form. They will, however, retain their adult char- acteristics and grow bush-like when planted alone. They will produce numerous round, globe-like inflores- cences which are both interesting as flower designs and as heads of dark blue berry-type fruits. Not much is known of their ultimate size or age behaviour. Plants in the Garden four to five years old are only two to three feet in height. PHOTO BY E.L.E. English Ivy Hedera helix. Adult or bush- type growth. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 11 Potted specimens for indoor, patio or porch use can be grown and trained to be satisfactory and interesting dark green foliage plants. They will thrive and grow under the exacting condi- tions of the hot dry air of our modern homes. They need strong light, but not direct sun, for best health. They must be kept moist, but not soggy wet, nor must they be allowed to stand in a saucer of water. An occa- sional washing off under a shower or a stiff spray from a hose will keep the leaves clean, free of spiders and mites and will keep the plant growing vigorously. The Missouri Botanical Garden has pioneered in the field of providing a good hardy strain of ivy ground cover for the St. Louis region. The Bulgar- ian ivy, which Dr. Edgar Anderson selected after trials of ivies from many places, seems to be admirably suited to our colder winters and more especially to the hot dry months which are equally exacting for plant survival. The adult form of this ivy grown as a bush is also proving to be interesting and attractive to plant lovers. Blk: NEW CLIMATRON PHOTO BY LEMOINE-SKINNER The New Climatron which replaces the old Palm House is nearing completion with the frame- work now in place. Left to right, Buchmeister Fuller, Hugh Cutler, and Eugene Mackey. Photo November 1959. 12 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN TOWER GROVE i ise Henry Shaw Memorial Associ- ation, under the direction of Mr. John S. Lehmann, early in 1953 began restoration of Mr. Shaw’s country home preparatory to opening it to the public. Mr. John Albury Bryan and the late Mr. Guy Study were the Architects in charge of restoration. The house, partly restored, was opened to the public in 1953, with the Eighth District Federation of Women’s Clubs acting as hostesses. Mrs. Arthur J. Kreuger and Mrs. Geo. H. Pring, work- ing with the Federation, have supplied hostesses on a volunteer basis for the past six years. In 1954 much needed structural re- pair work was made possible by a substantial gift of money from Stix Baer and Fuller Company of St. Louis. More recently, during the past year, work of restoration has been advanced through efforts of the Historical sub- committee of the Women’s Association of the Garden together with Mr. Bryan, the Architect. Directly re- sponsible and active in the work were Mrs. E. R. Culver, Jr., and Mrs. Neil Woods with consultation by Mrs. Fothergill Graves, Interior Dec- orator, PHOTO BY LEMOINE-SKINNER Hostess reception November 16, 1959, commemorating six years of volunteer service as hostesses in the Henry Shaw Home by members of the Eighth District Federation of Women’s Clubs. Mrs. Walter H. Millan, the first volunteer hostess (seated), Mrs. Arthur J. Krueger and Mrs. Geo. H Pring, who arrange for volunteer hostesses on a regular schedule, and second row, Mrs. L. and Mrs. Fred Steinkuhle. P. Whiting MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 13 ARCHEOLOGICAL CUCURBITS Culture of man traced by his use of gourds, pumpkins and squash D* HuGuH Cutter, Executive Di- rector of the Garden, has as- sembled one of the best collections of archeological cultivated plants in this country. Most of the items in the col- lection are corn, cucurbits and beans, but there are a great many specimens of other vegetable materials. For sev- eral years Dr. Cutler and I have been making a survey of the archeological cucurbits of North and South Amer- ica, aided by a grant from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Founda- tion. The purpose of the survey is to trace the distribution of the cultivated cucurbits in time and space, linking their distribution with the migration and development of cultures. The cucurbit materials recovered by archeologists from excavated sites usually consist of a number of charred, broken pieces of what was originally the rind of the fruit; some weather- beaten, eroded and decayed seeds; and a few battered peduncles (fruit stems) , frequently riddled with insect tunnels. If accurately dated, a surprising amount of information can be gained from these bits of debris, in spite of its rubbish-like appearance. From a close examination of the rinds we can usually assign the material to the proper genus; ie., either Lagenaria or Cucurbita. If the seeds are not too badly eroded or decayed, we can nor- mally place them in the correct species. The peduncles can be readily identified by the expansion or flaring at the fruit attachment, by the angle and depth of the longitudinal ridges, and by the amount and texture of the corky enlargement. Some results al- ready published indicate that Cucur- bita pepo (summer squash, pumpkin, ornamental gourds) was being grown for food as long as 7000-9000 years ago. In collaboration with a colleague, Dr. G. N. Davis, I am also preparing a manuscript on “The Botany, Culti- vation and Uses of the Cultivated Cucurbitaceae.” Consultations with Dr. Cutler and Dr. George B. Van Schaack, along with the rich collection of books in the Garden Library relat- ing to the origin and early use of culti- vated plants, have been helpful in advancing this project. THomas W. WHITAKER Geneticist U. S. Department of Agriculture La Jolla, California 14 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN PHOTO BY r.Ww.W. Fig. 1. The cucurbit seeds in the above illustration are representative of present day varieties. By comparing the gross morphology (form) with modern varieties, archeological cucurbit seeds can I 3 8) § be identified with considerable precision. Upper row left to right Cucurbitas nixta var. Taos; C. nixta (common); C. molima Center row left to right Cucurbitas pepo (small); C. pepo (large); C. moschata Lower row left to right Lagenaria siceraria; Apodanthera sp.; Cucurbita foetidissima \podanthera sp. and C. foetidissima are not cultivated plants but their seeds are occasionally found In vegetable material trom arche logical sites. / Ihe seeds of Apodanthera were used for food | } ] a / el » - while the pulp and fibres of C. foetidissima were used in cleaning and scouring. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 15 BOOK REVIEW The Garden Flowers of China. By H. L. Li, Taxonomist of the Morris Arboretum and Associate Professor of Botany, University of Pennsylvania. The Ronald Press Company of New York. Copyright 1959. 231 pages. Price $6.50. De Li in this book has brought together a comprehensive inter- esting presentation of China’s contri- bution to horticulture. The bibliog- raphy is extensive and ranges over a period of nearly a thousand years. He gives a background of history, to- gether with the lore and symbolism of many of what we consider “our” common garden flowers. The book is artfully illustrated with drawings and photo plates and would be most help- ful if you were considering making a new garden, revamping an old one or if you wished to add something new. This is particularly true if you want to add an oriental flavor to your garden. Much of the great joy of having a garden lies in the ability to know how to appreciate the flowers and to con- verse with your friends about the background, the culture and the use of these flowers, both in the garden and in arrangements. Dr. Li’s book presents this lore and romance about many of the common garden flowers which originated in China in a modest readable fashion. The flower lovers will find the book fascinating to read as well as informative and helpful in making their gardens both attractive and personal. (oat Be Be MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN PROGRAMS PECIAL Shows and Displays in the Floral Display House: Poinsettia Show, December 12, 1959, to January 15, 1960. Orchid Show, January 23 to Febru- ary 28, 1960. Free nature programs for children, seven to ten and eleven to eighteen, are held every Saturday morning from 10:00 to 11:30 A. M. Dead or Alive? Winter Puzzles Do You Have a Green Thumb? Jungle Plants The Green Thumb at Work (on your own January 2 January 9 January 16 January 23 plants) January 30 The Mystery of the Orchid February 6 Color Sound Movies February 13 Plants in a Capsule February 22 Three Cheers for the Green Thumb (you can take your plants home ) February 27 Free summer programs of nature study for children are supported by a gift from the Pitzman Foundation. Trails, craftwork and group activities are offered. Schedules for these pro- grams may be obtained in June from the Main Gate. 16 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN COURSES The following courses are open to any interested person. Certificates are awarded upon successful completion of any course. Information on regis- tration may be obtained by calling Prospect 6-5567. Please send all registration fees to Missouri Botanical Garden 2315 Tower Grove Ave. St. Louis 10, Mo. Registration fees cannot be refunded after the last day of registration for any particular course. The courses will meet in the class- room of the Museum Building. To reach the Museum enter the Garden through the gate opposite Cleveland Ave. at 2221 Tower Grove Ave. The building on the left. GROUNDS CARE Course 151. Area Management— For the landowner with one to fifty (or more) acres. Place: Classroom, Museum Building Time: Five Thursday nights in February (course given in alternate years. Next session 1961). Fee: $15.00 for the five meetings Enrollment: Limited to 20 students. Please register early. A course specially designed for those having small acreages in the country. Principles of erosion control, control of weeds and brush, basic management of ponds and specialized management of meadows, marshes and forests for maximum. recreation and enjoyment of wildlife will be explained and dem- onstrated. A course full of practical things you need to know. Instruction in agricultural crops and_ livestock care will not be included. HorTicULTURE Course 121. Plant Propagation. Place: Classroom, Museum Build- ing. Practice work, Experimental Greenhouse. Section I, Monday afternoons, 1:00 to 3:30 P. M., January 11 and 18. Section I, Tuesday nights, 7:30 to 10:30 P. M., January 12 and 19. Section Ill, Thursday mornings, 9:30 to 12:00 noon, January 14 and 21. Section IV, Friday afternoons, 1:00 to 3:30 P. M., January 15 and 22. Fee: $12.00 for two meetings. Enrollment: Each section is limited to 25 students. Please register early. Each period will include a lecture- discussion, followed by a student practice session. The course will emphasize the follow- ing methods of vegetative propaga- tion: root cuttings, suckers, divisions, hard and soft stem wood cuttings and leaf bud and scale propagations. Student practice will emphasize propagation of house plants such as Begonias, Dieffenbachias, Philoden- drons, etc. Some attention will also be given to hard wood cuttings. Each student will be provided with one plastic covered propagating box and 40 to 50 kinds of cuttings. Instructors: Clarence Barbre and Kenneth Peck. BOARD OF TRUSTEES ROBERT BROOKINGS SMITH, President DupLeY FRENCH Leicester B. Faust, Vice-President HeNry HitcHcock Henry B. Prracer, Second Vice-President JoHN S. LEHMANN DanieEL K. CaTLIN Ropert W. OTTo Sam’L C. Davis WarREN MCKINNEY SHAPLEIGH EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS ErHAN A. H. SHEPLEY, H. Lee Bruns Chancellor of Washington University President of the Board of Education GeorcE L. CaDIGAN, ai Bishop of the Diocese of Missouri STRATFORD LEE Morton > RayMonp R. Tucker, President of the Academy of Science Mayor of the City of St. Louis of St. Louis Secretary Oscar E. GLAESSNER Watpo G. Fecuner, Assistant Controller HORTICULTURAL COUNCIL Clifford W. Benson, Paul Bernard, Mrs. Paul H. Britt, Hugh C. Cutler, Robert E. Goetz, Paul Hale, Earl Hath, Mrs. Hazel Knapp, Emmett J. Layton, Francis McMath, D. O’Gorman, Robert W. Otto, G. W. Pennewill, W. F. Scott, Robert Brookings Smith, Robert Waln, F. W. Went, E.G. Cherbonnier, Chairman. STAFF Burs Ut WY Cn eee gk ee Se Ae ee ee eres eae Director 1 RVV4 oR Brox 1 1 (-) cea ee RRM POUL: Pose Pe Sek Wn 6) BIR CQO NSS ec Ree Executive Director |e Fee] Ve Xo (bac { od» meen ete NE ne RED NOIR Ns 7 Erp Biren Retest PrOy Maier Curator of Useful Plants ELT VietiN oN LEC VS eee cr ec ee Paleobotanist GlarencemBarb rec. cies. ees cate, eee cee ee en cee rats ete Je eo ee Instructor TOuisin Gra sa er ne res oe) ee eee eta a Arborist and Grounds Superintendent Gio} f=) PC PEel BH leh j-25p ee tam lee st ap cen oR ean ne nse De Peo esate deck aha a te cased Taxonomist Ladislaus Cutak.............. Horticulturist and Greenhouse Superintendent coset e ales a Vile Stes cs tener renee ee ee cea ee Rc Assistant in Education EW ae) | LAS, deneel Boye |-¢ Deepen a re Ooh eROEE ont Wn N.Y SNPRER Alea ib etieae 2 S08 E et eR ROACS Eee E: Mycologist RO De GbatlessiO Desserts ester eee ae .......Taxonomist and Editor of ANNALS 1 FeL EES) Bo DX 72 92-7 cae ee ree ae a nant dP DN we TL TT VEE Research Associate | Cg) Uw nh 11-4) eran mee er : _..... Horticulturist and Editor of BULLETIN Robert J. Gillespie... PE PORN 6 ESTE a POET NNE PRE EIEN eRe RP PN cs a In charge of Orchids SZ) IIB 3 9 \(6) |) ne Sa OR a SR APR SOIC SIE SE NG ae ROEM OT Floriculturist 1S nee 1 Xk eel ket le ia) 0) » Bey nis en 2 Rk IONE RIED AvP AP eR SP Landscape Architect Virginia McMahon..........................- ENCE CoE a eee seed eee eee reese oibrany, secretary rT isfereye VG TYS eV Cru Ley Ye) eae eee eee oie te ee Mee a SON a pe Oar ee eae ae ae Research Associate IifeFeeaye hs 9) LEI INE) 5 Xo) ve ee meneame Sei OU RITA peta Ake ae nne.8 Or Mes Gen Mae ere Morphologist een methin@)) Bec Kes. sicescecee cae cas as csdos tesssscaseicscaseseeesesseee- In charge of Visitors’ Activities Wael ameleew 0 wel leesect cere center sac eaeeen ee. 8 Mae eee Friends of the Garden Secretary RSG One Cele i) Pe cece nets sxc2o3 casas sddies, catan ceo cache cans kaxcseseasesassieee hese eee Superintendent Is Sabatla yy Gls. Sic ch (el elephant teat ieee en ena Ne eilet Hve DB reer che i Engineer ARES COMIN LT Keres ee re PS en aera reer Research Associate Frank Steinberg......... Superintendent of the Arboretum, Gray Summit Georee ei mV aAneSC nade Ks eae. res heceee tes fea ens Librarian and Curator of Grasses MGT OTRVON SSC NTE ke eee see hee eee ee Associate Curator of the Museum PeODEC Eg Eom NWW OOGSON SH) lessee ca. coree es coc da ean geese eave lasnuite eee esate Curator of Herbarium SOME FACTS ABOUT SHAW’S GARDEN The Missouri Botanical Garden (the official name chosen by Mr. Shaw) carries on the garden established by Henry Shaw over a century ago at Tower Grove, his country home. It is a private institution and has no support from city or state. The old stone walls and cast-iron fences, the Linnaean House, the Museum, the Mausoleum, and the Towrr Grove mansion all date from Mr. Shaw’s time. Since his death, as directed in his will, the Garden has been in the hands of a Board of Trustees who appoint the Director. The Garden is open every day in the year (except New Year’s and Christmas) from nine A.M. until seven P. M. spring to fall and until six in the winter time though the green- houses close at five. Tower Grove, itself, Mr. Shaw’s old country home, is open from one until four, admission fifty cents, with special guides. The Garden is nearly a mile long and has several entrances. The Main Entrance, the one most used by the general public, is at Tower Grove and Flora Place on the Sarah bus line (No. 42). The Park Southhampton buses (No. 80), direct from downtown, pass within three blocks of this entrance and stop directly across the street from the Administration Building at 2315 Tower Grove Avenue. The latter is the best entrance for students, visiting scientists, etc. It is open to such visitors after 8:30 A.M., but is closed on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The Cleveland Ave. gate, 2221 Tower Grove, is nearly always open, and there is a service entrance on Alfred Avenue, one block south of Shaw Avenue. Since Mr. Shaw’s time an Arboretum has been developed at Gray Summit, Mo., adjacent to State Highways 50 and 66. It is open every day in the year and has auto roads as well as foot trails through the wild-flower reservation. There is a pinetum and an extensive display of daffodils and other narcissi which are at their best in April. Fundamentals of Pruning Ornamental Trees and Shrubs Ay “4 . MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN VoLuME XLVIII No. 2 FEBRUARY 1960 Cover drawing by Louis G. Brenner CONTENTS Fundamentals of Pruning Ornamental Trees and Shrubs The Response of Plants to Pruning F. Ww. Went The When and How of Pruning Louis G. Brenner Missouri Botanical Garden Programs Office of publication: 306 E. Simmons Street, Galesburg, Illinois. Editorial Office: Missouri Botanical Garden, 2315 Tower Grove Avenue, St. Louis 10, Missouri. Published monthly except July and August by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden. Subscription price: $2.50 a year. Entered as second-class matter January 26, 1942, at the post-office at Galesburg, Illinois, under Act of March 3, 1879. Missour1 Botanical Garden Bulletin Vol. XLVIIT No. 2 February 1960 FUNDAMENTALS OF PRUNING ORNAMENTAL TREES AND SHRUBS Paes GARDENERS and home owners often find pruning of trees and shrubs a phase of gardening clothed in mystery and best left to the services of the professional, or if prac- ticed at all, done with little under- standing of the purposes and effect upon the plant. We present here the basic fundamentals of pruning, as we understand them to start the home gardener into a most interesting, en- grossing and necessary aspect of caring for his garden. It is hoped this explana- tion will lead to an even deeper and more serious interest by the gardener who may wish to read and use the more detailed information presented by the authors suggested on the last page. THE RESPONSE OF PLANTS TO PRUNING FL OW. A GARDENER can do a better job of pruning if first he understands what happens to a plant when it is cut or injured in any way, and second, what the plant will be like after it recovers from the operation. The foremost consideration in any pruning or trimming of plants is the buds. DESIRABLE BUDS A branch can only develop from the pre-formed buds, which are found at the end of a branch, or just above any place where a leaf is or was attached to a branch. If every bud grew, any plant would soon be a solid mass of branches. This happens at limited points in some diseases, such as_ the “witches broom.” A plant has, how- ever, a special device which makes WENT only one out of every ten to one hundred buds grow, the rest being left as a strategic reserve, which can be called upon when the growing shoot is injured, cut off, or eaten by animals. The method by which the plant keeps most buds inactive is that of diverting all food and other materials necessary for growth towards a rela- tively few growing buds, keeping the others starved. As soon as the grow- ing bud is removed, the diversion stops, and the buds left nearest the cut immediately take advantage of the available food. But as soon as one of them gets the upper hand, it starts to inhibit the others by diverting all food toward itself. Thus no chaos results from pruning. The number of branches which take over from the one which (17) 18 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN was removed is definitely limited. We know very little about the mechanism The only thing we can say with certainty is of this food diversion. that it is connected in some way with the production of the growth = hor- mone, ““Auxin,” by the growing stem. The extreme tip and the youngest leaves of a branch produce a large amount of auxin. As soon as the pro- duction of this auxin by the branch tip stops, the diversion of food toward that tip stops, and other buds get a chance. When one or a few of these other buds produce sufhcient auxin, this diverts the food toward them, and the situation is the same as it’ was before, except that one or more other branches have taken over from the original one. Thus the plant automat- ically adjusts itself to the effects of pruning or injury. By pruning, a gardener can make almost any inactive bud grow. This is of special importance in shrubs and trees which form their flower buds in the year previous to blooming, as in the case of cherries, peaches, apples, plums, apricots and many flowering shrubs. In these deciduous fruit trees, the top buds and the ones of last year’s growth are predominnantly vegeta- tive, or in other words, give rise only to leafy shoots, and do not contain pre-formed flowers. The more swollen buds on the older wood are predom- If left un- trimmed, a larger proportion of the inantly flowering buds. developing buds will be vegetative, which not only interferes with the development of flower buds, but also diverts food from growing fruit. When the majority of the last year’s shoots are pruned off, a greater pro- portion of flowering shoots can de- velop and set fruit. And still a certain number of vegetative buds, which are mixed in with the flowering buds on the older wood, will grow out to keep the plant in a good, balanced condition. In other plants, like the eastern lilac, the apical buds are usually flower buds, so that pruning during the winter de- stroys the next spring’s flowers. It is not practicable to list for each plant when and where the flowers are pre-formed, but anyone can find this out for him- self. A good hand lens and a few needles comprise the necessary equip- ment. Carefully pare the bud scales and small leaves away from a bud. If it is a flower bud, perfectly developed but as yet tiny, flowers will be found in between the small leaves. If only smaller and smaller leaves are seen inside, the bud was vegetative. All this is visible with a ten-times magni- fying glass. PLUMBING SYSTEMS There is another—and important— reason why shrubs should be pruned. This is related to the reason why a shrub does not grow into a tree even though it seemingly has all the attri- butes of a tree. But just as the shoot of a shrub gets a good start it stops growing, and in many cases, it dies back to the ground, and has to begin all over again. Therefore, in the natural state, a shrub usually has much dead wood and has many stems which grow up from the root crown. In this respect a shrub holds the middle ground between a tree and a perennial whose above-ground stems die at the end of each year (aster, delphinium, MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 19 paeonia). The efficiency of the plumbing system of trees, perennials, and shrubs is the important factor in determining their span of life. The tree is, from every standpoint, an en- gineering marvel. Its plumbing system is most efhcient. The plumbing system of perennial plants is so inefhcient that, after a season’s growth, the strain under which the water moves through the vessels has become so great that the buds higher on the stems cannot make good connections and will not grow any more. The whole stem dies, and a bud on the rootstock, near the source of water, starts next year anew. Something like this happens in shrubs. In the course of a few years, in many shrubs, the growth of the highest buds is not possible because of the relatively poor water supply sys- tem. An indication of the water stress is given a few years before the climax, when the new developing leaves stay smaller and flowers become smaller also. When the main stem of a shrub dies, new shoots start to grow from near the root crown, and take over the place of the dead stem. The plumb- ing system in these shoots becomes overtaxed in the same span of time, and then everything starts over again. In this case pruning can help, not by improving the plumbing, but by removing the buds too far away from the roots, causing buds lower down to develop where the water piping system will not be overtaxed so scon. There are different symptoms which show how much of the old branch has to be removed. Wherever the old branch seems thin in comparison with the number of leaves it has to supply with water, it should be cut. The buds on the thicker part of the branch farther down will give rise to more vigorous branches. Also, the branches bearing few and small leaves, as a consequence of a restricted water supply, should be cut off. In this way nature is helped and the shrub can be kept more vigorous, because it is not necessary for the whole branch to die before new shoots can grow. Thus we have seen that the scient ‘fic foundations for pruning are: (a) re- moval of the less desirable buds, so that the more desirable buds can develop, and (b) removal of the weak buds, poorly supplied with water, thus forcing better located buds to grow. And the reason why new buds start to grow when the growing shoots are re- moved can be explained by the diver- sion of food toward the growing shoots. The above explanation and_ the pruning directions given on the fol- lowing pages should constitute valu- able reading for every gardener who wants to prune more intelligently. These explanations here should em- phasize, for instance, the repeated reccemmendations that old, useless or weak shoots be removed in favor of desirable and well placed shoots. The fact that food is diverted to the buds left nearest the cuts should impress the pruner with the impor- tance of carefully considering — the placement of the buds to which he culs during pruning operations on various shrubs and trees. 20 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN THE WHEN AND HOW OF PRUNING LOUIS G. BRENNER THE REASONS FOR PRUNING pss is primarily a process of removing portions of a plant to achieve certain specific results essen- tial in good plant grooming. Some physiological reasons for pruning are set forth in the above paragraphs where Dr. Went discusses response of plants to pruning. Pruning should be undertaken with definite purpose in mind and not just because one sees his neighbor cutting away and_ decides this might be a good idea, especially if it is a beautiful day to be outside. Many otherwise fine garden trees and shrubs have been ruined by thoughtless hacking. Valid reasons WHEN Proper time to prune has consistent- ly baffled more gardeners than any other part of this relatively simple garden task. Necessarily, time of pruning is directly connected with the purpose cutting is to achieve and will be done in particular seasons of the year. Old hands at gardening say the time to prune is “when the knife is sharp,” but his knife is always sharp and is wielded with due consideration for each individual plant. For those less experienced, the following thoughts may prove helpful. PRUNING FOR SHAPI A large part of garden pruning will fall into this group which could per- haps be better named as “‘grooming.” Healthy, vigorous plants quite often for pruning may be listed as: shaping or grooming, in which small portions of the plant are removed to maintain general conformity typical of the species; to maintain youthful vigor necessary for flowering and fruiting of shrubs; to improve health by re- moving diseased or injured parts; to maintain a plant in a specific habit for specific purposes; and to balance the crown to injured root system as occurs in. transplanting. — Finally, pruning must be undertaken when plants have been injured by storm, romping chil- dren or pets, and other accidents. TO PRUNE need a bit of careful snipping to keep them well formed and this can gen- erally be done best during the growing season while the plant is in leaf. Flowering trees and shrubs, however, would be more properly shaped during the second and third week of July to insure against loss of flower buds on the branch thus shortened. Hedges generally may be shaped (sheared) at any time during the growing season with only the caution that heavy shap- ing be done in the first cutting and not left until August. Heavy shaping of hedges late in season could cause development of abundant new twig growth which may not mature (be- come woody) and be subject to winter freezing injury. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 21 PRUNING FOR VIGOR AND FLOWERS Most woody plants, it has been shown, especially shrubs, respond vig- orously to pruning, and this is essen- tial toward keeping blooming shrubs in heavy flower. Simple general rules may be practiced by the gardener to keep his shrubs in good vigor and flower. Spring blooming shrubs such as Forsythia, Weigelia, Van Houtte Spirea, Philadelphus are best pruned and thinned out shortly after flower- ing. This is because the plants bloom on stems developed during the pre- ceding season. Summer and the few fall blooming shrubs such as crepe myrtle, Vitex and Buddlea bloom on stems developed during the current season and should be pruned, thinned and shaped in early spring. Holly, long the plant symbol of the Christmas season, has become increas- ingly popular in midwest gardens. Many gardeners decline to prune their hollies at the Christmas season in fear of injuring their trees. American and English hollies can safely be pruned tor Christmas decoration. Such prun- ing, if carefully done, will maintain the characteristic pyramidal shape of the tree and will stimulate the produc- tion of new shoots which will bear heavily the next season. The gardener must remember that among the hollies the male and female flowers are borne on separate trees. Berries are borne only on female flowered trees, provided male trees for pollination are close at hand (or within several city blocks). Roses have been a popular summer blooming shrub of midwest gardens since colonial days and make an ex- cellent subject on which the gardener may apply the pruning principles set forth in these paragraphs. Roses, be- cause of a rather fast habit of growth, respond quickly to pruning, thus en- abling the gardener to correct and perfect his technique within a short period. Roses of the hybrid-tea and florabunda type in general should be shortened to approximately eighteen inches about mid-November, to pre- vent strong winter winds from shaking the plant loose in the soil when the soil is extremely moist as during a winter thaw. Major pruning of these roses is left until the end of March, at which time it is safe to remove winter protection. At this time dead canes and those killed by winter injury are removed, and remaining stems short- ened to 8-12 inches. All stems with a diameter less than that of a lead pencil are cut away. It is of utmost importance in pruning roses to main- tain a very wide and spreading habit of the plant to facilitate later pruning, and to permit thorough coverage of leaf surfaces later in the season when the plants must be sprayed for insect and fungal pests. Such an open habit is easily attained, if the pruner will exert diligence toward cutting to a bud pointing to the outside of the bush. Climbing or rambler roses may be pruned shortly after blooming. At this time all the canes should be cut to within two or three inches of the ground. Climbing roses bloom best on wood developed during the pre- ceding season, hence cutting to the ground assures the gardener of strong, vigorous blooming shoots for the fol- lowing season. The gardener will find he hm it wise to reduce the number of shoots to about three or four of the very strongest, otherwise the canes will be- come too crowded on the trellis where there is great competition for light. Thus they will fail to develop abun- dant flower buds. PRUNING FOR DISEASI Occasionally the gardener will sind need to remove portions of branches or even the entire limb or shoot in the control of certain virus diseases or borer attacks. Such removal should be made at their first notice, cut back far enough to be certain all infection is out, and the removed portions burned on the trash fire immediately. PRUNING AT TIME OF TRANSPLANTING Almost every plant that is moved from its original growing site will need some pruning attention to balance the stem structure with the root system reduced by the process of digging. Plants dug with bare roots will need at least half of the branches removed, leaving only a well-spaced skeleton of main limbs. Balled plants will usually succeed if at least one-third of the branches are removed. Such pruning is gauged to insure quick recovery from the shock of transplanting and also to prevent die-back of limbs by reason of a reduced root system unable to support an overbalanced top. Can- grown plants generally should be left unpruned unless roots have grown through the bottom of the can, in which case the top will have to be brought into balance by removing branches to approximately half of the total length of roots lost. In most cases it will be found practical to cut off roots growing through the bottom MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN of the can to facilitate removal of the plant without breaking the ball of soil encasing the roots within the can, Pruning of top for transplanting should be done at time of moving the plant and will generally be found easi- est while the plant is out of the ground and can be maneuvered into handy positions for making precise cuts. Shade trees such as oaks, sweet- gum and maples; conifers such as pine, spruce, cypress; and broadleaf ever- greens such as holly and_ bullbay magnolia should never have the main stem cut back because the single straight trunk is essential for develop- ment of a stout, sturdy specimen in later years of growth. PRUNING FOR STORM DAMAGI Limbs and portions of limbs dam- aged by storm, or in other ways, should be removed to the trunk or cut back to the nearest branch immediately, and the cut painted to prevent possible infection. Prompt attention at any season will eliminate dangling mem- bers which could cause further ‘njury to the remaining portion of the plant. PRUNING SHADE TREES Shade trees are generally pruned through the winter and into early spring. Absence of leaves renders it easy to observe the branching pattern, and also makes individual branches lighter in weight, thus reducing the hazard of stripping bark when limbs are cut for removal. It is wise to observe some few trees as exceptions to this rule. American and slippery elms and silver maple bleed badly if cut in early spring, and may continue to do so until mid-June. These trees are properly pruned about the end of June, MISSOURI BOTANICAL or if in winter, not later than the ead of December. Shaping-pruning, where limbs less than one and_— one-half inches are removed, or when dead PRUNING Most home gardeners will be able to give their plants good maintenance with comparatively few tools. At least three tools are essential—a good hand pruner, a lopping shear (long- handled pruning shear) with twenty- four inch handles, and a curved pruning saw, having not less than eight teeth to the inch. Those having numerous trees may want to add to this list a curved blade pole saw and a pole shears and perhaps even fifty feet of one-half inch or larger rope, and a twenty-foot extension ladder. Following are some considerations in selecting tools for pruning work. As with most garden tools, it is most advisable to purchase high quality tools for pruning, for good steel blades stay sharp and make neat cuts essential to rapid healing of wounds. Handles of pruning tools are under great strain and must be of high quality. HaNbD PRUNING SHEAR For most gardeners the hand prun- ing shear is an indispensable tool. For general, all-around use, a shear having an overall length of about eight inches will cut the smallest twig and also fairly large branches. In using this tool, the gardener is warned against using a twisting motion as he cuts, for this can cause springing of the blade and result in failure of the tool to cut clean. The gardener is also cautioned against cutting larger branches of GARDEN BULLETIN 23 limbs are to be removed, may be done at any season. It will be prudent to paint all wounds and cuts one inch or over with a wound dressing. TOOLS tougher woods with the hand pruner, for this task is more effectively ac- complished with the lopping shear. Gardeners will find the type of hand pruner having a lock high on the grip near the pivot point easier to use. Those with a lock on the lower end of the grip often result in painful blisters on the palm of the hand. LOPPING AND POLE SHEARS For those having many shrubs and trees in their garden a good lopping shear is an important tool. This long- handled shear is designed for making cuts too heavy for the hand pruner. The pruner will also find it elim- inates some stooping, and its long handles make it a handy tool for trim- ming low-hanging limbs from trees without the use of a ladder. As with the hand pruner, caution is required not to make a twisting motion when heavier limbs are cut, as this could spring the blades. Limbs that cannot be cut easily with the lopping shear should be left for the saw. The pole shear makes a very handy tool for light shaping of trees and very tall shrubs. It must be remembered that the cutting capacity of this tool is very limited and does not exceed The pole shear has the distinct advantage of that of the hand _ shears. reaching those diffcult branches im- possible to reach with a ladder and hand or lopping shears. MISSOURI BOTANICAL = = i Types of pruning tools as suggested in the text: GARDEN BULLETIN ttany aT ET L OQ SS SS ~ Sy Ty =< 1. Pole saw; 2. Pruning saw; 3. Curved yruning saw; 4. Hand pruning shear; 5. Pole pruner; 6, Lopping shear. & ! &§ ppin; MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 25 PRUNING SAW Though an ordinary carpenter's saw can be used in the pruning of large shrubs and trees, the gardener will find the pruning saw an easier tool to use. Pruning saws have a coarser set to the teeth. Some have teeth set to cut on both push and pull stroke, and will cut green woods much more easily than other saws. The gardener will find a narrow, curved-blade saw with fine teeth most handy for general pruning. Here one is warned against the use ef certain narrow, straight-blade saws having fine teeth on one edge and coarse on the other. Such tools often cause serious injury to nearby limbs when working in close places. A large saw similar to the carpenter’s saw, but with pruning saw set to the teeth, is very handy when pruning large limbs in trees. A pole saw having a curved, fourteen to eighteen inch _ blade mounted at the end of a ten to twelve foot pole is quite handy for tree work. PAINT It is standard practice among tree surgeons to paint wounds resulting from removal of limbs or accidental damage to bark to guard against infection of exposed wood by fungi and ravage by borers. For this pur- pose there are definite limitations to the sort of material used. The gar- dener is cautioned against using paints containing volatile thinners such as turpentine, benzol, etc. Asphaltic paints are recommended. — Specially- prepared wound dressings can be ob- tained from reliable seed stores and nurseries, and would doubtless be the safest dressing to use. When paints containing volatile thinners are used, considerable importance lies in possible injury to the tender thin growing layer, cambium. This tissue will, in time, develop the natural healing scar covering the wound, CARE AND MAINTENANCE OI PRUNING Toots Like all sharp-edged cutting tools, the gardener’s pruning tools will re- quire regular and careful attention if they are expected to work efhciently, make neat and clean cuts so necessary for quick healing of the pruning wound. Immediately after use, tools should be washed clean of all sap and gummy residues with a stiff brush and water, dried thoroughly and well oiled to prevent rust. Tools used to cut away diseased portions of plants should be disinfected with strong alcohol to prevent possible infection of other healthy plants. Blades of pruning and lopping shears should be touched up regularly with an oil stone or fine file. However, only the beveled-edge blade should be so sharpened, the other unsharpened should never be touched. If the shears fail to make a clean cut or tear bark in cutting, the blade has probably been sprung by twisting the shears in cutting, or attempting to cut too large a stem. Sharpening of pruning saws should be left for the professional. The cost is nominal. Handles of pole saws, lopping shears and pole saws should be rubbed with linseed oil occa- sionally to keep the wood smooth and free from weather cracking. 26 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN HOW Do the fact that many fine, well-illustrated books and pam- phlets have been written on the sub- ject of pruning, the gardener will draw his best lessons from his own garden if he will but take the time to closely observe each individual species and its peculiar manner of growth and bloom- ing. Particular attention must be given to the arrangement of the bud, leaf and flower and shoot buds because these, as pointed out by Dr. Went, determine the type of growth the gardener can expect from the plant after pruning. Among shrubs and trees commonly grown in gardens, there are two types of arrangement of the bud on the twig. These give origin to typical habits of growth of the plant. Basically, buds have either an alternate or an opposite arrange- ment on the twig. The gardener will find that a greater number of plants will have an alternate arrangement of buds. Such arrangement of buds ac- counts for more common habits of growth. Alternate budding usually gives rise to rounded, pyramidal, in- verted pyramid, or columnar-shaped plants. Opposite budding rarely leads to anything more than a_ rounded shrub or tree with a rounded crown. Position of the last bud or pair of buds left on the twig will determine the direction in which the new shoot will grow. Buds on the top of the twig will probably grow upward at an angle. The bud on the side of the twig will grow outward at an angle, and to the side in which it is directed. In opposite budded plants, when the TO PRUNE cut is made to a pair of buds in lateral position, both buds often grow. Ob- servation of bud arrangement and care in selecting the terminal bud to be left, is of utmost importance in the development of shapely plants. Care in selection of terminal buds can also reduce much pruning work later on, if the pruner will exercise caution not to direct the bud and its potential shoot toward another branch where there is little light for growth and possibility of chafing of branches. The gardener who would become proficient in the art of pruning must learn that the pruning task is not fin- ished when the shears are washed, oiled and hung on the rack, and the brush disposed of. He must watch the buds left from his cutting expand, the shoot lengthen and mature to flower and fruit. From close regular observation he will learn his mistakes and how to correct them when the pruning shears are next taken in hand. He will also experience the supreme satisfaction of directing the course of nature in one of the few ways permitted to man. PRUNING FOR SHAPI Often trees and shrubs send out a particularly vigorous shoot which, if left to continue growth, would spoil the appearance of an otherwise shapely plant. Such shoots can be. safely shortened to proper length early in July. It is important that such shoots on spring-flowering shrubs be short- ened in July to permit resulting lateral growth to mature and develop flower buds. In most cases, the gar- dener will find his hand pruner_ will MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 27 Piped Fin. 3 Fig. 1. Typical stem with alternate buds. After pruning direction of growth is determined by position of bud immediately below cut. Fig. 2 A, B. Top view of alternate budded branch, shows pruning cut to direct growth right or left side. Fig. 3. side view of alternate budded branch, cut at ‘“X” encourages growth out and up, cut at “Y’’ encourages horizontal growth, rarely down. y é nf E Fipn.4 Fin d5 Fig. 4. Typical stem with opposite buds; note each pair of buds usually arranged at right angle to pair above and below on stem. Fig. 4 D. Side view of opposite budded stem, buds in vertical plane; top bud produces most vigorous shoot in out and up direction. Fig. 5 E. Top view of oppo- site budded stem, buds in horizontal plane; both buds usually grow at equal rate in horizontal plane. 28 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN perform this task, or for trees, the pole shear. Shaping of evergreens, such as juni- pers, yews, arbor vitae, should be done in early spring, as the plants usually reach maximum elongation of the new shoot early in July. Pine, Spruce and Fir can be shaped by snipping off the tips of over-long branches in March or April. However, care must be exer- cised not to remove more than one- third of the total leafy area of any one limb. PRUNING FOR VIGOR Shrubs, more than trees, require pruning attention to maintain vigor- ous shoots, capable of producing abundant flowers. Most often, the gardener will find it most practical to remove old shoots to the ground level, using the lopping shear or small saw. pee ye oe Before Usually the third year after the shrub has been planted, and by each succeed- ing year, it is advisable to remove several older shoots to maintain a youthful, vigorous condition of the plant. Generally, the dark, heavily- barked shoots are old and produce few flowers. Such old shoots, because of their lack of vigor, are prone to attacks by borers, which may be attracted in suthcient number to bore into younger shoots as well. The pruning gardener should take advantage of the fact that most shrubs bloom best on young wood. Spring-blooming shrubs should be thinned quite harshly to force abundant new shoots to bloom the next season. Such cutting, of course, takes place soon after flowering. Summer- blooming shrubs receive similar treat- ment in early spring. wrt Ae we abe After Flowering shrubs should have old stems removed, remaining stems thinned out if necessary, to encourage young vigorous growth capable of producing abundant flowers. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 29 In any case, the gardener should check his plants regularly, and when the new shoots reach about four inches they should be thinned to an even spacing to insure even light to all. Shoots cut to the ground are often replaced with four to five vigorous new shoots. The gardener will find it advisable to leave only one or two of the strongest, and these spaced about four inches apart. Attention to this detail will make future removal of old stems much easier, because they can be easily reached with lopping shears or saw without injury to nearby shoots. Certain old shrubs that have gone without pruning attention for many years may be rejuvenated by removal of old stems over a period of at least two years. Such removals should be done in early spring. Some spring-blooming shrubs, such as Forsythia, the gardener will ‘ind will bloom especially well if the entire plant is maintained in a quite open branch system to permit abundant light to reach the stems, in which case the plants often bloom over the entire length of the shoot. PRUNING TREES Trees in general require less pruning attention than. shrubs but, unlike shrubs, whose outstanding character- istic beauty lies in continual rejuvena- tion, trees gain beauty and majesty through age. The pruner, therefore, is cautioned that the effects of his pruning of trees is of long duration. Pruning of shade trees is most often directed toward development of strong, straight trunks with a_ well-spaced scaffold of limbs. Pruning should be- gin with the first season after the tree is planted. Early attention is directed toward development of the straight trunk without narrow crotches or “V's. Branches are encouraged to leave the trunk at wide angles, as these prove strongest in strong wind and storm. In later years, as increas- ing numbers of limbs develop, atten- tion is given to removal of limbs that grow toward the interior of the crown, and also those that lie across one another and chafe and rub. It is especially important that flow- ering trees, especially crabapples and hawthorne, receive corrective pruning when quite young, for major limb removal after the plant matures to blooming age, leads to development of numerous water sprouts (sucker shoots), which cause much additional pruning work, and if left unattended, most often ruin an otherwise shapely creé. THE PRUNING Cut In all pruning successful healing of the wounds resulting from the removal of limbs is directly related to the craftsmanship practiced in making the pruning cut. Healing or callousing of the wound is a function of the cambium layer (the thin green inner bark), and occurs quite rapidly on healthy plants when smooth cuts are made, as when a sharp shear or fine- toothed saw is used. Because the cambium has its greatest activity in the direction of the length of the shoot or branch, the gardener will observe that the sides of the pruning cut will heal faster than the top or bottom, and elongated wounds will 0) MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN eS =~ ew A] : qoactiyes Phree principal types of branches to remove in good tree pruning to insure strong shapely trees. A. Remove limbs that have growth directly into interior of crown. B. Remove limbs that. rub and chafe another limb or show possibility to do so in later years. C. Remove secondary leader, also limbs that form narrow “V" crotch. Observe A. and B. in shrub pruning also. vs a 4 ts A B C To remove larje limbs from trees. A. Shows incorrect procedure. Initial cut from top and close to trunk usually resalts in tearing bark from trunk. It is advised to remove limb with three cut; indicated in B. and ¢ ” MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 31 heal faster than the more round the outer third of the limb is removed wounds. Also, for this reason, the with lopping shears or saw. Next, two cambium fails to heal over stub ends consecutive cuts are made near the of branches when the pruning cut is trunk. These may be about four to made too far from the trunk or remain- six inches from the trunk for limbs ing limb. Proper places to make cuts one inch in diameter, and proportion- for rapid healing of wounds is best ately further out for large limbs. described in the preceding diagrams. The farst of these cuts is made on the Removal of large limbs presents a underside of the limb and through at special problem in pruning, and the least one-fourth of the diameter. The gardener will do well to follow a second cut is made on the top of the technique commonly practiced by most limb and slightly further out, away srofessional tree surgeons. Large . a P 5 a from the trunk. The pruner con- limbs, because of their weight and ; ’ : tinues to saw this cut until the limb ength, exert a great pressure at the ; es ' ; aon eS falls free, which it will do without point of union with the trunk or : tearing bark. larger limb. An attempt to remove _ ) x : ; ; rematli mS 1OW ryreatly such a limb with a single cut close to Phe remaining stub, now greath eerie seal Gavatiabl-tesule ta. ehe reduced in weight, can be sawed away, limb breaking loose and tearing away making the cut from the top and as bark immediately below, before the close as possible to the trunk. In this cut is completed, thus greatly increas- manner the gardener will experience ing the area of the wound. Limbs slight, if any, tearing of the bark. more than one inch in diameter are The wound, of course, is painted best removed in several steps. First, immediately. RECOMMENDED READING The Pruning Manual, Everett P. National Park Service, U. S. Gov. Christopher, the Macmillan Co. 1954. Printing Office. 1955. : , Section on Pruning in the Stand- Shade Tree Pruning, A. R. Thomp- . = ard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, L. son, Tree Preservation. Bulletin #4, H. Bailey, the Macmillan Co. 1928. ia XxX & a) GtK mare eK 32 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN PROGRAMS PeciAL Shows and Displays in the Floral Display House: Orchid Show, January 23 to Febru- ary 28. African Violet Show March 5 and 6. Free nature program for children, seven to ten and eleven to eighteen years, are held every Saturday morning from 10:00 to 11:30 A. M. The Mystery of the Orchid February 6 Color Sound Movies — February 13 Plants in a Capsule February 22 Three Cheers for the Green Thumb (you can take your plants home ) February 27 The Story of the Pin Cushion Forests March 5 The Life Secret of a Plant March 12 Make Your Own Dwart Gardens March 19 Color Sound Movies March 26 Free summer programs of nature study for children are supported by a gift from the Pitzman Foundation. Trails, craftwork and group activities are offered. Schedules for these pro- grams may be obtained in June from the Main Gate. COURSES The following courses are open to any interested person. Certificates are awarded upon successful completion of any course. Information on regis- tration may be obtained by calling PRospect 6-5567. Please send all registration fees to Missouri Botanical Garden 2315 Tower Grove Ave. St. Louis 10, Mo. HORTICULTURE Course 122. Spring Horticulture. Place: Museum Building. Time: (Register for only ONE of the sections offered. ) Section I, Wednesday afternoon 1:00-4:00 P.M. March 16, 23, April 6, 13, 20. Section Il, Friday morning 9:00 A. M.-1200 Noon. March 18, 25, April 8, 15, 22. Section III, Monday afternoon 1:00 —4:00 P.M. March 21, 28, April 11, 18, 25. Section IV, Tuesday nights 7:00— 10:00 P.M. March 22, 29, April 12, 19, 26. Fee: $18.00 for five meetings. Enrollment: Each section is limited to 20 students. Please register early. This course will teach beginning gardeners how to propagate plants from seed. Special emphasis is placed on annuals and perennials. Each sec- tion will include a lecture period aid a practice period. The lectures will discuss factors effecting plant growth and practical means for control, such as optimum supply of heat, light, moisture, air, fertilizer, lime, mulch, pest and disease control. Each student will receive seeds and four metal flats with sterilized soil. There will be enough space to grow 300-350 seed- lings which, with the flats, may be taken home. Seeds of those plants par- ticularly desired by a student should be brought to the first session. Instructors, Mr. Clarence Barbre, Mr. Kenneth Peck. BOARD OF TRUSTEES RoBERT BROOKINGS SMITH, President Leicester B. Faust, Vice-President Henry B. PFracer, Second Vice-President Howarp F. Barr DanieEL K. CaTiin Sam’L C. Davis Henry Hircucock JouHn S. LEHMAN Rosert W. Otto WarRREN MCKINLEY SHAPLEIGH EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS H. Lee Bruns GEORGE L. CaGIGAN STRATFORD LEE Morton EtrHan A. H. SHEPLEY RaYMOND R, TUCKER HONORARY TRUSTEE DupDLEY FRENCH Oscar E. GLaEssNER, Secretary Waxpo G. FECHNER, Assistant Controller HORTICULTURAL COUNCIL Clifford W. Benson, Paul Bernard, Mrs. Paul H. Britt, E. G. Cherbonnier, Philip A. Condrath, Carl Geibel, Robert E. Goetz, Paul Hale, Earl Hath, Mrs. Hazel L. Knapp, Dan O’Gorman, Gilbert Pennewill, Mrs. T. Randolph Potter, F. R. McMath, Chairman. Frits W. Went STAFF PeeE eins o Sept. 31.0 27.3 25.6 32.6 32.4 20.3 15.8 21.7 21.5 44.4 19.0 20.3 Oct. 34.7 39.0 31.7 36.3 29.7 21.8 20.8 24.4 23.6 21.2 19.2 22.5 Nov. 59.2 50.3 46.7 41.0 37.4 24.1 30.0 25.5 36.3 37.2 32.7 25.7 Dec. 10.8 18.0 19.5 13.9 10.0 4.3 8.1 7.1 8.5 8.8 9.6 12.2 YEAR 384.0 384.6 336.9 334.2 331.4 238.2 201.8 201.9 222.3 273.7 235.7 216.4 1049 1050 1058 1052, 10531054 1055 10561057, 1058-1950 Jan. 4.5 6.5 5.7 9.4 4.5 14.1 7.9 3.8 4.3 5.2 5.3 Feb. 17.0 10.2 13.6 14.9 20.1 12.9 7.4 73D 10.1 13.4 12;1 March 9.2 8.1 14.4 9.0 10.8 4.9 14.6 14.2 19.1 15.3 25.6 April 23.0 20.2 17.0 26.1 18.8 21.0 15.8 29.1 23.0 25.0 25.8 May 28.2 21.9 25,9 27.3 22.6 28.9 11.5 22.4 24.3 26.6 25.6 June 17.6 22.2 16.6 26.7 14.7 17.9 8.9 18.3 18.6 25.4 25.3 July 19.2 29.1 19.6 18.2 20.6 18.0 13.1 20.1 22.1 233 27.7 Aug. 16.7 24.2 24.9 27.2 21.8 20.9 20.4 20.0 20.3 24.6 25,2 Sept. 28.2 18.9 21.7 23.4 16.1 18.6 21.2 19.8 23.9 23.2: 37.3 Oct. 23.7 29,3 19,2 18.8 16.4 29.8 12.5 18.5 17.8 24.1 40.6 Nov. 29.6 18.2 14.8 35.7 27.7 14.0 15.9 15.9 19.2 23.3 22.5 Dec. 8.5 5.5 5.2 13.0 12.6 9.3 6.7 8.1 15.5 8.8 6.0 YEAR 225.9 214.4 198.6 249.5 206.2 210.3 155.9 197.7. 218.2 240.4 279.8 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 400m ar meas : fo» . = pS 300M} sae aa aan —— / \ op / bh ee, A Ss ° . ‘oe . ea 0 | aca ws eo OO ao eo aan 925. 1930 1935. 1940 1945. 1050. 1955. 1959 We can learn a lot from these fig- tivities at the southern end of the ures. We must assume that the in- terest in the Missouri Botanical Garden is reflected by the number of people visiting it. But there are obviously many other factors involved. For in- stance, when transportation became a problem during the war years, attend- ance dropped from an average 350,000 persons to a scant 200,000. Yet, when we draw a straight line through the attendance figures, we see that the declining rate of attendance, which started in 1930, continued after the war years, and indicated that, without drastic changes, by 1960, the number of visitors might have declined to a scant 100,000. In reality, we see that in 1956, a recovery in the attendance has set in, approximately as steep as in the years 1925 to 1930, and that in 1959, this increase has continued. Actually, the number of visitors was very much higher than the actual count at the turnstiles at the Main Gate indicates, for the restoration of Shaw’s Tower Grove House and the Centennial ac- Garden have drawn increasing numbers of visitors through the Cleveland Ave- the Centennial least 25,000 visitors nue During at gate. Celebration must have entered through the Cleve- land Avenue gate, where there are no turnstiles, and practically all 3,000 children so graciously received by the Veiled Prophet Queen arrived through that gate. The table shows that, while in the 1920’s and regular with peak months of up to 1930’s attendance was ir- 80,000 visitors, during the last years the attendance is much more evenly distributed over all months and that, except for January and December when, because of bad weather, usually less than 10,000 people visit the Gar- den, all other months had very regular attendance of twenty to thirty thou- sand people. This is of importance in planning for the future. If we can keep at- tendance so evenly distributed, parking and entrance facilities will only have 40 MISSOURI BOTANICAL to be based on top crowds on Saturdays and Sundays, and these top crowds are now more or less evenly distributed throughout the year, in contrast with the °20’s and °30’s, when the much larger Chrysanthemum Shows at- tracted crowds many times greater than during the rest of the year. This indicates that with a proper distribution of shows and displays of outdoor materials, a steady attendance throughout the year can be achieved. It is hoped that our new facilities will contribute to that end. The Executive Director spent part of the summer in the Southwest and in California in connection with ethno- botanical studies supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Thomas Whitaker from California worked with him at the Garden for several months. Dr. Cutler also repre- sented the Garden at meetings of the Directors of Museums and Taxonomic Collections in Florida. In the beginning of February the Director returned from a trip through South America, where he studied the vegetation of several regions, especially GARDEN BULLETIN of the desert regions near Lima, Peru; the shrub vegetations of the Campos Cerrados in the State of Sao Paulo; the Caatinga in Ceara, and the jungle near Belém. In early June he was present at the garden party celebrating the 200th anniversary of Kew Gardens; in August he attended the International Botanical Congress in Montreal, where he received an honorary Sc.D. from McGill University, and in early No- vember, he traveled to Czechoslovakia and Sweden for consultation about phytotrons. He also participated in phytotron discussions at the Univer- sity of Wisconsin as well as at Purdue University. He had many speaking engagements:—Science Teachers Insti- tutes in Austin, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Dakota; North Dakota; and at our own In- Vermillion, South Fargo, Training Teachers Institute at the Garden. Furthermore, he lectured in Sao Paulo; Memphis; Rolla, Washing- ton, D. C.; Montreal; Penn. State Lubbock, Stockholm; Columbus and Chicago, College; Texas; Prague; and on many occasions for service and garden clubs in St. Louis. RESEARCH IN USEFUL PLANTS EDGAR ANDERSON, Curator , ‘He studies of statistical methods and graphic representation have been continued. In the Spring he taught his Washington University classes including ‘“‘Field Botany”. He Williamsburg Symposium in March. The Men’s participated in the Garden Clubs of America presented him with an award of merit at. their Cleveland meeting. During the Sum- mer months he traveled to California, Alaska, Costa Rica, Colombia and to the Rocky Mountain Biological Station in Colorado in connection with his researches with useful plants. He spent the Fall semester as a fellow of the Center for Advanced Studies in Behavioral Sciences. He is now back in St. Louis to resume his teaching and research. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 41 THE HERBARIUM ROBERT E. WOODSON, JR., Curator crivities in the herbarium during A 1959 were encouraging. Re- decoration of the herbarium and work quarters was made possible by a grant from the National Science Founda- tion. Details of the renovation were planned in consultation with Mrs. Fothergill Graves, a well-known in- terior decorator of St. Louis and a devoted Friend of the Garden. With relatively limited funds, Mrs. Graves was able to achieve a startling effect with pleasing pastel shades upon the walls, some new furniture and the re- finishing of some old. The purchase of absolutely the last additional her- barium cases capable of being crammed within our present quarters has been made. The staff consists of Dr. Robert E. Woodson, Jr., Curator, Mrs. Barbara Mueller, Secretary, and Dr. George S. Bunting, assisted by Mr. James A Duke, Mr. Jack Wasinger and Mrs. Irene Buersmeyer. The grass her- barium is under the direction of Dr. George Van Schaack, who had _ the volunteer assistance of Dr. and Mrs. Frederick Comte. It should be pointed out that the entire staff, including the Curator, is on a part-time basis quite insufhcient to cope with the growing work of our herbarium and_ barely able, despite their devotion, to keep abreast of incoming correspondence and exchanges. Many important fam- ilies in the herbarium should be com- pletely reorganized, but the necessary manpower is lacking. The herbarium of the Missouri Botanical Garden is one of the richest in the world, and upon the basis of available statistics is the fourth largest in the Americas. The housing for a herbarium of its size and standing is most inadequate and the care must be limited. Many accessions of unusual interest were received by our herbarium during the year just ended. It is particularly gratifying to report continued ex- changes upon a substantial scale with the vast and extremely active herbar- ium of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in Leningrad. During the past summer the Missouri Botanical Garden cooperated with the Yale School of Forestry in a collecting expedition to Darién Province, Panama. The nu- merous specimens of this expedition will doubly enrich our herbarium through exchange with other similar institutions. A significant development of the past year was the larger number of requests for loans which our herbarium received. This increase, which was approximately 40°, over the previous year, may be construed not only as evidence of a greater general interest In taxonomic research at home and abroad, but is pa-ticularly testimony of greater esteem for the collections of the Missour1 Botanical Garden. Research in the herbarium has main- tained its usual diversity. Dr. Wood- son and Mr. Duke have continued their studies on the Flora of Panama under a grant which they hold from the National Science Foundation. Dr. Woodson also has continued his studies 42 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN of population structures in butterfly- weeds and of drug plants. Dr. Bunt- ing received a National Science Foun- dation award toward a monograph of the genus Philodendron under the auspices of which he spent the months of November and December collecting in the Yucatan Peninsula. Dr. Dwyer has concentrated his research toward the preparation of manuscript on Pa- pilionatae for the Flora of Panama. Dr. Dressler has pursued various topics in Euphorbiaceae and Orchidaceae. Dr. Dodge spent the year as a guest consultant for the Brazilian Govern- ment at the University of Recife. Five graduate students of the Henry Shaw School of Botany of Washington University have conducted their re- search in the herbarium during 1959, Dr. Lorin I. Nevling, Jr., having re- ceived the degree of Ph.D. at the June commencement. Dr. Nevling recently has joined the staff of the herbarium of Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; his dissertation monograph of the genus Daphnopsis will be published in the November 1959 number of the ‘Annals ofthe Missouri Botanical Gar- den’. Other graduate students and the topics of their research were: Henry J. Kaltenthaler (B.S., Pennsyl- vania University, A.M., Washington University )—Rubiaceae; Wilham C. Burger (A.B., Columbia University, A.M., Cornell University ) —Moraceae; Howard Pfeifer (A.B., University of lowa)—Aristolochiaceae; Fuad Safwat (License in Biological Sciences and Education, Higher Teachers College, Baghdad )—various topics in the flora of the Near East. Herpartum Recorps—1959 Specimens mounted: ca. 23,696 sheets Exchanges sent: 1,300 sheets Exchanges received: 3,529 sheets Loans sent: 10,041 sheets Loans received: 1,183 sheets Approximate total specimens in the herbarium: 1,741,000 sheets. LIBRARY GEORGE B. VAN SCHAACK, Liprarian AND CURATOR OF GRASSES M ucH of the library effort in 1959 was devoted to continuing the rehabilitation program made _ possible by the National Science Foundation grant, reported a year ago. This grant, received in 1958, provided $60,000 for the herbarium and the library. Significant parts of the library pro- gram were binding of back-files, com- pletion of back-files by special pur- chase, addition of book-repair equip- ment, shelf-checking and other ‘house- keeping’, photographic copying of the card catalogue and shelf list, and pur- chase of cases for these copies. The card catalogue copy, still un- finished, will replace the old catalogue of 2” 5” cards with photographic copies on standard size library cards. This will permit the future integration of standard cards such as those sup- plied by the Library of Congress, and will provide, as well, a card large enough for recording necessary biblio- graphic data. The shelf-list copy, also on standard size cards, will replace the MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 43 old style paper sheets of odd size, many of which, dating back to 1900, are not in usable condition. The shelf-list copy will be filed adjacent to the card catalogue where it may serve to some extent as subject reference, subject entries being lacking in the main cata- logue. The old card cabinets will very conveniently accommodate the Torrey Index, purchased in 1959, which is printed on the smaller size card. General housekeeping included the shelf-checking of several sections not checked for many years, the replace- ment of many hundreds of pamphlet covers, and the provision of slip cases for many score of rarer books either already with broken bindings or in fine bindings which should be protected. Additions to repair shop equipment included a substantial guillotine, a lettering stamper and a large stapler. Acquisition of a contact copier will permit the rapid copying of material for interlibrary loan requests of only a few pages; the books will thereby receive less wear, and the fees obtained will cover the expense involved. Among many special purchases of books were included the fine 1935 reproduction of the Herbal of Pseudo- Apuleius, Dunthorne’s Flower and Fruit Prints, and the third edition of Evelyn’s Sylvia, 1689. The last-named filled the gap in our otherwise com- plete series of the first five editions. Journal files completed included Planta (17 volumes) and the Proceedings of the Linnean Society (18 years). Our copy of the Map of Hispanic America was completed as far as possible by the purchase of 47 sheets. In addition to the normal accession of some 600 journal volumes, 202 books were catalogued. Some 958 books were returned from the bindery, and over 200 prepared for binding. Of several gifts to the library one of nearly $500.00 deserves special mention because of its character. The gift was made up of donations in honor of the birthday of one of the Friends of the Garden. The money will be used to repair and replace fine bindings on some of our old and rare books. The library participated in the cele- bration of the Centennial of the Gar- den by preparing an exhibit of over 50 of our illustrated volumes. The City Art Museum graciously provided a gallery where, during November, these volumes were on display, ar- ranged to show the history of various techniques in making flower prints during the last 500 years. An illus- trated catalogue of the exhibit pre- pared by the librarian and Erna Eisen- drath constituted the final number of the BULLETIN for 1959. EDUCATION CLARENCE BARBRE, INstructror JOSEPHINE DAVIES, Assistanr In EpucaTIoN KENNETH O. PECK, IN CHARGE oF Vistrors’ ACTIVITIES A PROGRAM of activities for chil- dren from 7 to 18 is given every Saturday morning from 10 to 11:30 A. M., no admission charge or registra- tion required. These programs were very successful in 1959 and 460 chil- 44 MISSOURI BOTANICAL dren took part. The more active programs, like making Christmas dec- orations, planting miniature gardens and potting bulbs to take home, at- tracted large numbers. The attend- ance throughout the year was remark- ably steady except during the summer vacation period and the colder days of fall and winter. Some high school biology instructors give extra credit to students who participate in the Saturday program. The Pitzman Nature Program for the second year offered four courses in the natural sciences, at both junior and senior levels, covering birds, animal and insect enemies, trees, and other plants. There were 365 registrations for the two 5-week sessions and 245 children completed work for certifi- cates. As a part of the Pitzman Nature Program, one group of chil- dren from each session was chosen to form a Junior Research Team. Under the guidance of Mr. Peck, Miss Davies, and Miss Beth Andrews, summer as- sistant in Education, they completed research projects on lawn weeds and the kinds of oak trees in the Garden. A report of their work was published in the September BULLETIN. Displays the groups prepared were exhibited at the Main Gate. Mr. and Mrs. Earl Hath, Miss Jeane Stern, Mr. and Mrs. Stuart O'Byrne, Miss Helen Bowman and Mr. Harry Licht, members of the St. Louis Audubon Society, conducted the groups in bird study. In October nearly 800 children from local schools visited the Garden to plant) paperwhite Narcissus bulbs. Each student was given a short period of instruction on what bulbs are and GARDEN BULLETIN how to grow them. Each potted two bulbs which could be taken home. About 90 tours were given to groups of children and adults. The tours varied in scope according to the in- terests of the particular group. An encouraging number of teachers are bringing their classes to the Garden where they can study the excellent materials we have to offer. For many years Mrs. Paul Britt has directed the Volunteer Guide Service for the Garden. Groups of people Children enjoy trip through North Amer- ican tract to collect study material. MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 45 from all over the country, local or- ganizations of adults and children, and many school groups have been guided through the Garden by Mrs. Britt and the ladies who have been specially trained in her organization. Their help makes it possible to conduct many more groups than our limited. staff could handle. They do it so well that we receive frequent letters of praise for their work. The Tree Trail continues to be very popular and last year about twelve thousand people followed it with the free guide-pamphlet which is given to visitors at the Main Gate. A new Na- ture Trail which will show the rela- tions of plants and animals to their ORCHID environment is being developed. It is designed to stimulate thinking of the relationships of man and with all other organisms. Adult courses in Spring and Fall Wild Flowers, Botany for Home Gar- deners, Grounds Care, Horticulture, Orchid Growing, Bulb Forcing and Plant Propagation were offered in 1959 and enthusiasm of the students was high. Clarence Barbre’s Plant Propa- gation and Spring Horticulture courses had 160 students and Gillespie’s Mod- ern Horticulture for Home Gardeners, offered for the first time last year, was filled nearly to capacity in both Spring and Fall sessions. COLLECTION R. J. GILLESPIE, IN CHARGE OF ORCHIDS Re work as usual occupied most of the time of the Orchid Department during the year of 1959. The entire collection is now adequate- ly potted and the cultural condition of the plants is greatly improved. Al- most all of the cultural set-back due to the transfer from Gray Summit has been overcome. An evaporative-pad cooling system was installed in the “New Introduc- tion” house and was used during the warm months. The temperature of the house was held 10 to 15 degrees below the outside temperature, thus helping the newly introduced plants to become established. This was the first cooling system to be installed in any of the greenhouses in the city Garden. A system of automatic watering with rain-jets was installed in 4 of the Orchid houses and gives an excellent drop-type precipitation. It is hoped that the entire collection will be wa- tered automatically by the end of 1960. For the annual Orchid Show a simulated room was designed, display- ing orchids in 4 picture windows. A basement Orchidarium, using artificial light, was designed and built to dem- onstrate basement orchid culture. An Orchid Garden and several other dis- plays, including one staged by the Orchid Society of Greater St. Louis were also featured. During the Centennial Flower Fes- tival the Orchid Department exhibited a tiered circular staging, massed with Cattleya hybrids. An artificial “Or- chid Tree” was designed and built for the show. It was planted with numer- ous “botanical” orchids and plans are 46 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN underway to build several additional “Orchid Trees” in the coming year. A continuous display of Orchids was maintained throughout the year in the alcoves and in the “Botanical Or- chid” House. During the year the display areas were enlarged and made more elaborate by adding a Cattleya staging at the entrance of the “Brome! House’ and also by placing several shadow boxes in the existing display areas. Cut orchids were supplied weekly for flower arrangements in the Shaw House. As usual, flowers for the tra- ditional “Queen’s Bouquet” were sup- plied during the month of October. ACCESSIONS The year 1959 was the most active year in over a decade for new intro- ductions into the orchid collection. A total of 1012 new plants were acquired during the year. By far the majority of these were“botanicals” from Central and South America. However, the hybrids were not neglected and a series of new hybrid introductions added con- Notable among these was a collection of hybrid siderably to our collection. Cattleya, Miltonia, and Paphiopedilum , I I donated by Mr. George Butterworth Illustration of an Orchid- arium such as an_ individual might construct for his base- ment. of Framingham, Mass. Another valu- able accession was a_ collection of modern hybrid Cattleyas acquired from the B. O. Bracy Co. of Santa Ana, Calif. Among the “botanicals” the most notable accessions were the plants received from Mr. C. H. Horich of Costa Rica. unusual “botanical” species were re- Numerous rare and ceived from Mr. Horich and _ these plants, along with other newly ac- quired “botanical” orchids, establish the collection as having more Genera and Species at the present time than at any other period in its history. RESEARCH AND INSTRUCTION Four orchid courses were given by the Garden during the year. Two of these were all-day courses and the others were three hours each. These courses were well attended and are being offered again in the coming year. An experiment to test orchid potting media was set up under the direction of Dr. Went. It consists of 4 blocks of Cattleya Mrs. John Lehmann potted in various potting media. This experiment is still in prog- ress and will be concluded in 1960. Several articles were published by the Orchid Department during the MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 47 year in national orchid publications. These articles dealt with such topics as orchid culture and orchid hybridiz- ing. The February issue of the Missouri Botanical Garden BULLETIN was also devoted exclusively to orchid culture. Mip-AMERICA ORCHID CONGRESS In October the First Mid-America Orchid Congress was held in St. Louis at the Community Federal Savings and Loan Assn., St. Ann, Mo. The Orchid Department participated in the con- gress ina number of ways. A display depicting 50 years of orchid research at the Garden was built and staged. Orchid staff personnel were active as judges, panel moderators, and speakers. After the congress and show were over, Community Federal Saving and Loan Assn. presented to the Garden a display arch, which they had con- structed as a show prop, to be used in future Garden displays. PLANT INTRODUCTIONS E. L. EVINGER, Horticuttrerist oie active introduction of new materials for the outdoor garden has been temporarily held up pending the implementation of the new master plan. Nevertheless some fifty to seventy-five new species were incor- porated into the garden in places un- likely to be affected by any physical Many of the plants of an easily replaceable changes in garden design. nature that were being grown for the outdoor garden were released through the plant sales booth at the Centennial Celebration. Some twenty new lots of seed and cuttings were received and about seventy-five entries of small plants were made during the season. These will be grown and held in the green- house or nursery pending the time the garden will be ready to receive them. The Experimental Greenhouses have been utilized this past season to grow nearly eighty kinds of tropical plants, mostly trees, for use in the Climatron. These are primarily from seed brought back by Dr. Went from his South American travels, and include many spectacular tropical flowering trees. GREENHOUSES AND CONSERVATORIES LADISLAUS CUTAK, Horticutturist AND GREENHOUSE N anticipation of tearing down the Palm House and its wings, our workmen began digging up the plant- ings as early as April and transferring them into tubs. It was hoped that most of the larger trees and shrubs in the houses scheduled for demolition could be left intact, but when the SUPERINTENDENT wrecking crew arrived to begin tear- ing down the buildings, we decided to employ all available Garden help to save as many of the plants as possible and move them to the Old Citrus House where trenches were dug and Most of the material is doing rather well and will the plants heeled-in. 48 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN no doubt stand another transplanting when the Climatron is ready to re- ceive them. Pring Landscapers helped with their heavy equipment to move the tallest palms and the transplants would likely have taken hold had not sudden early freezes caused their de- mise. Protection covers were hastily assembled over others but these, too, are feared lost. The trunks which remain will be used later on to display epiphytes. The waterlilies, which have won world-wide acclaim, were enjoying one of their best years, producing lovely riotous displays of color throughout the summer and autumn months. The front pools were fertilized and plowed on April 7th and actual planting of waterlilies began on May 6th. The plants took hold almost immediately and soon were producing flowers in abundance. Waterlilies are started from tubers in greenhouse tanks in January, pricked off and transplanted as needed, and before they are set out- doors make a lovely display in the green houses where visitors can watch their development from seed or tuber to flowering plant. The waterlilies are propagated by Mr. Frank Korte, who has performed this task for many years. The waterlilies in the outdoor pools kept on blooming through the month of October but on November 3rd were finally removed. The cacti and succulents came into their own on several occasions during the year. During the whole month of July an excellent display of these plants was staged in the Flower House by the Henry Shaw Cactus Society in cooperation with the Garden. The Cactus and Succulent Society of America held its eighth biennial con- vention in St. Louis, July 7 to 11, and many commercial growers sent exhibits. After the show the plants were donated to the Garden’s collec- tion. Noted exhibitors were Johnson Cactus Gardens, Beahm Gardens, Gates Cactus and Tegelberg Cactus from California; Karr Cactus from Colo- rado, Desert Botanical from Arizona, and Siesta Cactus Gardens from Flor- ida. Local members also had meritori- ous displays such as those of Carl Snyder, Harry Hoettger, the Stam- pehls, Al LePage, Zee Young and Bill Fischer. The July Show marks the first time that any individual society attempted a month-long exhibit and it proved a success. During the Centen- nial festival in late September another cactus display was shown in the Flow- er House. This was also the first time that the three greenhouse departments combined their talents and resources to put on a rather pleasing show with the flavor of a three-ring circus. Thus cacti, orchids, bromels and bedding plants were utilized to produce a harmonious show. Potted cacti, which since 1933, were kept in back of the Cactus House for convenience were removed to the Seedling and Introduction House in the Exotic Range where they can be more easily and readily man- aged under present conditions.